Iranian authorities arrested a Swedish citizen and accused him of being an Israeli spy, according to a report published by the Iranian state-owned Tasnim News Agency on Monday.
The report claimed that the unnamed individual was “identified and arrested on charges of spying for the Zionist regime during the 12-day war [with Israel].”
Additionally, the report alleged that Iranian authorities had evidence of the individual’s training and connections with other known Israeli agents in six different European countries, including in the “occupied territories,” a term used to refer to the State of Israel.
Tasnim reported that the Swedish citizen was in Israel just two weeks before entering Iran.
Allegedly, the suspect entered Iran a month before the beginning of the 12-day war and stayed in a villa near Karaj. Iranian authorities claimed he was found in possession of “electronic spy equipment” identified by regime law enforcement officers.
Tasnim reported that the accused had “confessed to spying for the Zionist regime” and mentioned that “the defendant’s case has been heard in the second branch of the Alborz Islamic Revolutionary Court.”
Rights groups and some Western nations have accused the Islamic Republic of using such arrests to gain leverage in negotiations, a claim Tehran denies, alleging that it does not arrest individuals for political reasons.
Previous espionage-related arrests
According to the report, a verdict is expected to be handed down within the week.
In recent years, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has detained dozens of dual nationals and foreigners, primarily on espionage and security-related charges.
After the 12-day war, the Islamic Republic arrested thousands of people accused of spying for Israel, oftentimes charging them without trial. As of August, the regime had handed out at least eight death sentences for spying for Israel.
Iranian analysts have told The Jerusalem Post in the past that these sentences are often for show and that real spies and their cases are often never revealed to the public.
The Mossad and the IDF have previously stated that Israeli agents operated within Iran for months before the war in June this year and will continue to do so as long as necessary.
Reuters contributed to this report.