Iran charges Swedish national with espionage

State media in Iran on Saturday reported the arrest of a Swedish national on spying charges.

"The Intelligence Ministry announced that a citizen of the Kingdom of Sweden was arrested on espionage charges," state news agency IRNA said.

"The suspect had been under surveillance by the Intelligence Ministry during several previous trips to Iran because of [their] suspicious behavior and contacts ... for visiting cities that were entirely outside of tourist destinations," the news agency quoted the ministry as saying.

Sweden's Foreign Ministry said it was aware of the case. "This is a known and ongoing case which the Foreign Ministry has been working on for a while," a spokeswoman said in an emailed comment to the Reuters news agency.

Sweden and Iran's strained relations

Relations between the countries have soured of late. Earlier this month, a Swedish court sentenced a former Iranian official to life in prison for participating in the 1988 mass killings of jailed dissidents. 

The conviction and sentence has led to fears of reprisals against Western prisoners held by the Islamic Republic.

Iran slammed the verdict, with the Foreign Ministry saying it was "politically motivated" and had "no legal validity."

Tehran summoned the Swedish charge d'affaires and handed him a note of protest.

Iran's elite Revolutionary Guard has arrested dozens of dual nationals and foreigners in recent years, mostly on espionage and security-related charges.

Rights groups have accused the Islamic Republic of trying to win concessions from other countries through arrests on trumped-up charges. Tehran denies the accusations.

kb/fb (Reuters, dpa)