Sweden Orders Iranian Embassy Official to Leave Over Alleged Threats
Sweden has asked an official at Iran's embassy in Stockholm to leave the country and summoned Iran's ambassador over alleged threats to Jewish and Israeli interests.
The decision was announced on September 16, 2026. Swedish authorities said the staff member had taken part in activities that were not compatible with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, the international treaty that sets the rules for what diplomats can and cannot do Al Jazeera.
Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard said the step was taken to protect Swedish citizens and interests. Justice Minister Gunnar Strommer said the case concerned Iran's alleged activities against Jewish and Israeli interests in Sweden Al Jazeera.
Strommer said Iran had over a long period carried out activities that threatened security in and against Sweden. He said the targets included critics of the Iranian government as well as Jewish and Israeli interests, and that Iran had used criminal networks to pursue those goals. Security Service spokesman Jonathan Svensson said Iran was continuing such security-threatening activities, including attempts to use proxies, like hiring outside help such as criminal networks, to carry out attacks or violence. Tehran denies the allegations.
Stockholm has made similar public accusations before. In 2024, Sweden's Security Service accused Iran of recruiting members of criminal gangs to commit violence against Israeli and other interests in Sweden. In 2023, Sweden accused Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of hacking a Swedish SMS operator to send 15,000 text messages calling for revenge after Quran burnings during protests Al Jazeera.
Earlier this year, Stockholm warned the risk was rising. In March 2026, Sweden's Security Service said threats to Sweden linked to the war in Iran had increased, including risks to Jewish interests Reuters. It also said the Middle East war had increased threats to U.S. and Israeli interests The Defense Post.
The broader context here is Sweden's choice of diplomatic tools to handle an intelligence concern. Expelling one embassy employee and formally summoning the ambassador is a limited response. It falls short of cutting ties or ordering mass expulsions. It puts blame on the record in public while keeping a channel open for protest.
Looking at what this could mean for the two countries, a lot will depend on reciprocity and whether Stockholm releases more detail. Iran denies carrying out security-threatening activities in Sweden, so the two accounts do not match. Diplomats will watch for a tit-for-tat expulsion, travel advisories, and changes to embassy staffing or consular work. Security officials will watch whether the alleged use of criminal proxies continues, and whether Jewish institutions and Israeli-linked sites need lasting protection.
