Article author:
Reuters
Stockholm — The Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs advised citizens to ban travel to Iran prior to the end of the trial, which worsened relations between the two countries.
"Because of the security situation, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs advises against all trips to Iran," the ministry said in a statement.
Relations between the two countries deteriorated after Sweden tried former Iranian officials in the 1980s on suspicion of mass executions of political prisoners in Iran's prisons and war crimes for torture. The verdict is scheduled for July 14.
Next, Sweden strongly condemned the death sentence of Sweden and Iran's disaster medicine researcher Ahmad Reza Jalali, who accused Iran of spying on Israel.
"Recently, there have been increasing complaints about Sweden and other European countries. Iran has expressed various forms of dissatisfaction with the ongoing trials against Iranian citizens in Sweden," Sweden said. The telecommunications company TT quoted the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Sweden had previously advised to ban all unnecessary trips to Iran.
Iran's Elite Revolutionary Guard Corps has recently arrested dozens of dual citizens and aliens, primarily on suspicion of espionage. Rights activists have accused Iran of using them as a trump card for negotiations. Iran, which does not recognize dual citizenship, has denied taking prisoners for diplomatic leverage.
However, Iran exchanged several imprisoned foreigners and dual citizens for Iranians detained abroad. (Report by Johan Ahlander, edited by Bernadette Baum)
