Sweden has expelled an official from Iran’s embassy in Stockholm as the government warns that Tehran is using criminal networks to conduct security-threatening operations inside the country.
The Iranian ambassador was also summoned by Sweden’s Foreign Ministry on September 16.
Swedish authorities said the expelled official had engaged in activity “not compatible with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations”.
The government has not publicly identified the official or disclosed the specific activity that led to the expulsion.
Justice Minister Gunnar Strömmer placed the decision within a broader pattern of alleged Iranian operations on Swedish territory.
Sweden says gangs are being used as proxies
Strömmer said Iran has for a prolonged period conducted security-threatening activities in Sweden directed against opponents of the Iranian government and Jewish and Israeli interests.
Some of those operations have involved criminal networks, he said.
Sweden’s Security Service, Säpo, has separately warned that Iran continues attempting to use proxies, including organised-crime groups, to carry out violence in the country.
The allegation is not new.
In 2024, Säpo accused Iran of recruiting members of Swedish criminal gangs to conduct violent operations against individuals and organisations regarded as threats by Tehran.
Sweden has subsequently experienced attacks and attempted attacks against Israeli interests, including shootings and an attempted bombing.
Authorities have previously warned that young people have been recruited through criminal networks for some violent operations.
Sweden has not said that the Iranian embassy official expelled this week personally directed any of those networks or attacks.
Quran-burning influence operation
Swedish authorities have also previously accused Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of conducting an influence operation following Quran burnings in Sweden.
Investigators said a Swedish SMS service was hacked in 2023 and approximately 15,000 messages were sent encouraging retaliation against people involved in the burnings.
Sweden attributed the operation to an Iranian cyber group acting on behalf of the IRGC.
The Iranian government rejected Sweden’s accusation at the time.
The incident demonstrated another aspect of the security concerns now being raised by Stockholm: attempts by a foreign state to exploit existing social tensions inside Sweden.
Foreign interference meets organised crime
The allegations surrounding criminal networks create a particularly difficult security problem.
Traditional foreign operations may involve intelligence officers, diplomats or operatives sent into another country.
Using existing criminal organisations offers a different model.
A foreign government can potentially recruit people already involved in violence and organised crime without deploying its own personnel to conduct an attack.
That blurs the boundary between conventional gang crime, foreign interference and politically motivated violence.
Sweden’s decision to expel an Iranian embassy official represents its latest response to that threat.
The immediate reason for the expulsion remains undisclosed.
The wider accusation from Stockholm is much clearer: Swedish authorities believe Iran is attempting to project power inside the country by using Sweden’s own criminal networks as proxies.
Sources
- Swedish Government – expulsion of Iranian embassy official
- SVT – Swedish government and Säpo on Iranian operations and criminal networks
- AFP/AP background – Iranian proxy activity and previous Swedish allegations
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