Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson announced that Sweden seeks European Union support to designate the Iranian Revolutionary Guard as a terrorist organisation.
This move follows several attacks on Israeli targets within Sweden, which Stockholm attributes to Iranian orchestration.
The Swedish intelligence agency, SAPO, has accused Iran of enlisting members of Swedish criminal gangs to commit “acts of violence” against Israeli and other interests in Sweden, claims that Tehran has denied.
Kristersson told the daily newspaper Expressen, “We need Sweden to take seriously, along with other EU countries, the incredibly problematic link between the Revolutionary Guards and their destructive role in the Middle East, as well as their growing actions in several European countries, including Sweden.”
Kristersson added, “The only reasonable option is to obtain a joint designation of terrorists, allowing us to act on a broader scale than the current sanctions permit.”
In recent months, several Israeli interests have been targeted in Sweden. In early October, the Israeli embassy was subjected to a gunfire attack that resulted in no injuries.
Since the outbreak of the war in Gaza in October 2023, other incidents have occurred near the embassy.
A grenade was found near the embassy in February, described by the Israeli ambassador as an assault attempt. Additionally, in May, a shooting outside the building prompted increased security measures around Israeli interests in Sweden.
Two attacks targeting an Israeli military technology company also occurred over the past six months.
In May, Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter reported, citing documents from the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad, that Iran had recruited both Rafa Majed, head of the Swedish “Foxtrot” criminal network, and his arch-enemy, the leader of the “Rumba” gang, Ismail Abdu.
Public broadcaster SVT reported in early October that the most recent attacks on the Israeli embassies in Stockholm and Copenhagen were carried out by Foxtrot under orders from Iran.
