A Swedish diplomat says his release from a 2-year detention in Iran is like a dream
6 months ago

A Swedish diplomat says his release from a 2-year detention in Iran is like a dream

The Independent  

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Please try again later {{ /verifyErrors }} The Swedish European Union diplomat who was held in Iran for two years and freed in a prisoner swap over the weekend said Tuesday that his release was “the dream that I sometimes did not dare to believe in." Johan Floderus and a second Swedish citizen, Saeed Azizi, returned to Sweden on Saturday in exchange for Hamid Nouri, an Iranian convicted in Stockholm of committing war crimes over his part in 1988 mass executions in the Islamic Republic. In the background stood Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, who had welcomed Floderus and Azizi at the airport and said they had faced a “hell on earth.” The swap was mediated by Oman, a sultanate on the eastern edge of the Arabian Peninsula that has long served as an interlocutor between Iran and the West.

Iran Sweden Free Email Swedish Nouri Floderus  sign  email  iran  dream  free  release  long  floderus  breaking  swedish  nouri  diplomat  detention  verifyerrors  2year

History of this topic

This prisoner swap is a triumph – but it could be a sign of something even more profound
4 months, 3 weeks ago

This prisoner swap is a triumph – but it could be a sign of something even more profound

The Independent  

It is, by a long way, the most elaborate and comprehensive East-West prisoner exchange since the Cold War, involving 24 individuals from at least half a dozen countries. And it comes at a time when relations between Russia and the West could hardly be more frigid or present a greater risk to European – if not global – peace. Gershkovich …

Who's who in the prisoner swap that has freed Evan Gershkovich from Russian prison
4 months, 3 weeks ago

Who's who in the prisoner swap that has freed Evan Gershkovich from Russian prison

NPR  

Who's who in the prisoner swap that has freed Evan Gershkovich from Russian prison toggle caption Dmitry Serebryakov/AP Three U.S. citizens and one legal permanent resident will be returning home from Russia as part of a massive prisoner swap that is one of the largest of its kind since the end of the Cold War. Among those being freed are …

Iran charges a Swedish national with spying for Israel
1 year ago

Iran charges a Swedish national with spying for Israel

Associated Press  

TEHRAN, Iran — Iran on Sunday held the first hearing for a Swedish citizen who was detained last year on charges of spying for Israel, media reported. A report by Mizanonline.ir news website, which is affiliated with the country’s judiciary, said that the prosecutor accused the man who was identified as Johan Floderus of “having links with Israeli elements” and …

British father released from Iranian jail after US prisoner swap
1 year, 3 months ago

British father released from Iranian jail after US prisoner swap

The Independent  

Get the free Morning Headlines email for news from our reporters across the world Sign up to our free Morning Headlines email Please enter a valid email address Please enter a valid email address SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Mr Tahbaz, wearing a blue shirt, steps down onto the …

Iran Hopes for Prisoner Swap with US on Monday as $6B Frozen Funds Access Looms
1 year, 3 months ago

Iran Hopes for Prisoner Swap with US on Monday as $6B Frozen Funds Access Looms

News 18  

Iran hopes that a prisoner swap with the United States will go ahead Monday, once Tehran gains access to $6 billion frozen by US ally South Korea, the Iranian foreign ministry said. Under the deal, which Washington and Tehran have previously confirmed, Iran would release five US citizens from detention and, Iran said, the United States would release five Iranians. …

Five Americans detained in Iran walk free, released in deal for frozen Iranian assets
1 year, 3 months ago

Five Americans detained in Iran walk free, released in deal for frozen Iranian assets

Associated Press  

DOHA, Qatar — Five Americans detained for years in Iran walked off a plane and into freedom Monday, most arm-in-arm, as part of a politically risky deal that saw President Joe Biden agree to the release of nearly $6 billion in frozen Iranian assets owed by a third country, South Korea. “Today, five innocent Americans who were imprisoned in Iran …

US-Iran prisoner swap ‘important first step’ but tensions remain: Analysts
1 year, 3 months ago

US-Iran prisoner swap ‘important first step’ but tensions remain: Analysts

Al Jazeera  

A major diplomatic breakthrough between Tehran and Washington remains unlikely before 2024 US election, experts say. Alex Vatanka, director of the Iran programme at the Middle East Institute think tank in Washington, DC, called the prisoner exchange a “transactional deal”. Sina Toossi, a senior fellow at the Center for International Policy think tank in Washington, DC, said while it remains …

Sweden, EU say Swedish national has been held in Iran since last year
1 year, 3 months ago

Sweden, EU say Swedish national has been held in Iran since last year

Al Jazeera  

The announcement comes after The New York Times reported on the detention of a Swedish citizen working for the European Union’s diplomatic corps. Sweden and the European Commission have said a Swedish national was detained in Iran in April last year. The announcement came on Monday after The New York Times reported that a Swedish citizen working for the European …

US-Iran prisoner swap deal is ‘on track’, says White House official
1 year, 4 months ago

US-Iran prisoner swap deal is ‘on track’, says White House official

Al Jazeera  

Agreement is ‘proceeding’ but there is no exact timetable for swap, says US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan. White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan has said that a prisoner swap deal between the United States and Iran is “on track”, less than two weeks after Tehran moved five detained US citizens to house arrest. But we believe that that …

‘Important step’: What we know about tentative US-Iran prisoner deal
1 year, 4 months ago

‘Important step’: What we know about tentative US-Iran prisoner deal

Al Jazeera  

More details have slowly begun to emerge of a tentative deal that would see the United States and Iran engage in a prisoner swap in exchange for giving the Iranian government access to billions of dollars in frozen funds. On Friday, Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that the “process of releasing several billion dollars of Iranian …

Belgium, Iran conduct prisoner swap in Oman, freeing aid worker and diplomat convicted in bomb plot
1 year, 6 months ago

Belgium, Iran conduct prisoner swap in Oman, freeing aid worker and diplomat convicted in bomb plot

Associated Press  

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Belgium and Iran exchanged prisoners on Friday in a controversial move that saw an Iranian diplomat convicted of attempting to bomb exiles in France returning to Tehran bedecked in flowers while a visibly gaunt aid worker headed back to Brussels. Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said in a statement that the aid worker, Olivier …

Belgium examining Iran’s request to free jailed diplomat in swap with detained aid worker
1 year, 7 months ago

Belgium examining Iran’s request to free jailed diplomat in swap with detained aid worker

Firstpost  

Vandecasteele was charged with espionage against Iran, and collaborating with the US government as well as smuggling foreign currency and money laundering. He, however, denied all the charges and Belgium too condemned the charges as “fabricated” The Belgian government is currently mulling Iran’s request to transfer jailed Iranian diplomat Asadollah Assadi in exchange for jailed Belgian aid worker Olivier Vandecasteele, …

Iran says 'everything ready' for prisoner swap, US denies
1 year, 9 months ago

Iran says 'everything ready' for prisoner swap, US denies

Hindustan Times  

Iran and the United States have reached an agreement to exchange prisoners, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian told state TV on Sunday, but Washington denied it as a "false" claim by Tehran. A White House official denied Amirabdollahian's statement about the prisoner swap with Washington, adding that the United States was committed to securing the release of Americans held in …

Iran says Swedish national arrested on spying charges
2 years, 4 months ago

Iran says Swedish national arrested on spying charges

Al Jazeera  

The arrest comes amid increasing tensions between Tehran and Stockholm. Tehran, Iran – Iran’s intelligence ministry says it has arrested a Swedish national on charges of spying after having him under surveillance for some time. But the Iranian intelligence ministry statement on Saturday mentioned that the arrested individual’s travels were monitored closely from the unspecified time he entered the country, …

Iranian gets life in prison in Sweden for 1980s crimes
2 years, 5 months ago

Iranian gets life in prison in Sweden for 1980s crimes

Associated Press  

STOCKHOLM — An Iranian citizen was sentenced Thursday to life imprisonment by a Swedish court after being convicted of committing grave war crimes and murder during the final phase of the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s. The court said 61-year-old Noury participated “in the executions of many political prisoners in Iran in the summer of 1988.” The acts were deemed …

Iran state media says diplomat jailed with insufficient evidence
2 years, 6 months ago

Iran state media says diplomat jailed with insufficient evidence

Al Jazeera  

State media says Belgium has sentenced Asadollah Assadi to a 20-year prison sentence in a politicised case. Tehran, Iran – Iranian state media says Belgium sentenced an Iranian diplomat to a 20-year prison sentence with insufficient evidence, in what they have branded a politicised case. “Based on reports from Assadi’s attorney, the role of this terrorist organisation in forging a …

Iran detains Swedish tourist travelling with group: Sweden
2 years, 7 months ago

Iran detains Swedish tourist travelling with group: Sweden

Al Jazeera  

The Swedish foreign ministry says the man in his 30s was arrested when he was about to leave Iran. In a brief comment by email, Sweden’s foreign ministry said on Friday that the man was in his 30s and that the embassy in Tehran was “seeking information and is in contact with local authorities”. Sweden’s Aftonbladet tabloid wrote on Thursday …

Iran plans execution of Iranian-Swedish researcher by May 21
2 years, 7 months ago

Iran plans execution of Iranian-Swedish researcher by May 21

Associated Press  

STOCKHOLM — Iran is planning to execute an Iranian-Swedish researcher imprisoned since 2016, Iranian media reported Wednesday, as major court cases further strain tense relations between the two countries. The report by the semiofficial ISNA news agency quoted informed Iranian officials as saying that Iran will implement the death penalty against Ahmad Reza Jalali by May 21 at the latest. …

Iran summons Swedish envoy over ‘illegal’ trial of ex-official
2 years, 7 months ago

Iran summons Swedish envoy over ‘illegal’ trial of ex-official

Al Jazeera  

Tehran has called the trial of Hamid Nouri, who is accused of involvement in prisoner executions, politically motivated. Tehran, Iran – Iran’s foreign ministry has summoned Sweden’s ambassador to protest what it called the “illegal” imprisonment and trial of a former official accused of human rights abuses in 1988. Swedish prosecutors had levelled “baseless and fabricated” accusations against the official, …

Iran wants nationals freed from US jails amid nuclear talks
3 years, 7 months ago

Iran wants nationals freed from US jails amid nuclear talks

Associated Press  

TEHRAN, Iran — Iran said Tuesday it was seeking the release of all Iranian prisoners held in the U.S. amid talks in Vienna meant to bring Tehran and Washington back into the nuclear deal between Iran and world powers. Cabinet spokesman Ali Rabiei also hinted that another exchange of prisoners between Iran and America was possible, saying that “the idea …

Iran rejects Sweden’s ‘intervention’ on academic facing execution
4 years ago

Iran rejects Sweden’s ‘intervention’ on academic facing execution

Al Jazeera  

Iran’s sharp response to Swedish foreign minister calling on Tehran not to execute Iranian-Swedish academic Ahmadreza Djalali. Tehran, Iran – Iran has rejected an “interference” by Sweden after Stockholm called on Tehran not to execute Iranian-Swedish academic Ahmadreza Djalali, who was handed a death penalty three years ago for spying and is slated to be executed soon. “In light of …

Discover Related