WANA (Mar 10) – Sweden’s Ambassador to Iran, Mattias Otterstedt, was summoned to the Iranian Foreign Ministry on Monday in protest against what Tehran called inappropriate and interventionist remarks by Swedish officials regarding the Islamic Republic.

 

According to the Foreign Ministry, Otterstedt was summoned by Shahram Qazizadeh, head of the ministry’s Third Western Europe Department, who conveyed Iran’s formal objection to Sweden’s stance.

 

During the meeting, Qazizadeh condemned the statements made by Sweden’s Minister of Education, calling them unfounded, interventionist, and contrary to international law and diplomatic norms. He criticized Sweden for questioning the actions of Iran’s legal institutions and for defending a convicted criminal whose offenses have been fully proven.

 

Iran Demands Investigation into Death of Iranian National in Sweden

The session also addressed the case of Niloufar Zare, an Iranian citizen who was recently killed in a violent incident in Sweden. The Iranian side urged Swedish authorities to keep Tehran informed about the judicial proceedings related to her death.

 

In response, the Swedish ambassador stated that he would relay Iran’s concerns to his government.

 

Last Friday, Sweden’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned Iran’s ambassador over the request for the release of Ahmadreza Djalali, an Iranian-Swedish citizen accused of espionage. Sweden called for his immediate release on humanitarian grounds to reunite with his family and receive medical care. They also reiterated their request for a prison meeting with him.

 

Last summer, Tehran exchanged two Swedes for Hamid Nouri, but Djalali, sentenced to death in 2017 and granted Swedish citizenship in prison, was excluded. Sweden insists it pursued his release and reaffirmed its opposition to the death penalty.