Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on February 3, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 26, 2026
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Sweden accuses a Stockholm mosque of Iranian spying, halting state aid. The mosque denies links to political entities. Iran protests the detention of the mosque's head.
STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Sweden's government on Monday accused a Shi'ite Muslim mosque in Stockholm of being a platform for Iranian spying against Sweden and the Iranian diaspora.
Sweden's Minister for Social Affairs said on X that the Swedish Security Service assessed that the Imam Ali Islamic Center in Stockholm was used by Iran as a platform to spy and conduct activities threatening security.
"This is extremely serious," Jakob Forssmed said, and added that Sweden had stopped all state monetary aid to the centre. He added, without elaborating, that "an additional process" was under way.
"State funds should not be used for activities that conflict with fundamental democratic values," he said.
The mosque could not be immediately reached for comment.
In a statement on its website, the Imam Ali Islamic Center said it was an independent organisation without any links to political parties or states.
"IAC maintains strict oversight to ensure that our premises are not used as a platform for any criminal activity," it said, denying claims that it had received money from foreign states.
Iran's official news agency IRNA reported on Monday that Iran had called Sweden's ambassador in Tehran on Sunday to protest at the detention of the head of the Islamic Center in Stockholm.
"Diplomatic regulations were not respected in his case, he was not allowed to see his family members or Iranian diplomats, which begs questions and to which we express our objection," a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said, according to IRNA.
Sweden's Foreign Ministry could not immediately comment on the case or confirm that a person had been detained.
(Reporting by Johan Ahlander in Stockholm and Elwely Elwelly in Dubai, Editing by William Maclean)
Sweden's government accused the Imam Ali Islamic Center in Stockholm of being a platform for Iranian spying against Sweden and the Iranian diaspora.
Sweden stopped all state monetary aid to the Imam Ali Islamic Center and indicated that an additional process was underway regarding the situation.
The Imam Ali Islamic Center stated that it is an independent organization with no links to political parties or states and maintains strict oversight to prevent criminal activity.
Iran's official news agency reported that Iran protested to Sweden's ambassador in Tehran, claiming that diplomatic regulations were not respected in the case of the detained head of the Islamic Center.
Sweden's Foreign Ministry could not immediately comment on the case or confirm that a person had been detained.
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