Iran executes Swedish citizen accused of spying for Israel, third execution in 2026
The execution comes as Iran remains locked in a widening conflict with the United States and Israel
- Mar 18, 2026,
- Updated Mar 18, 2026 9:08 PM IST
Iran executed a Swedish citizen accused of espionage on Wednesday, prompting condemnation from Sweden's government, which said the legal process leading to the execution had not been secure.
The execution comes as Iran remains locked in a widening conflict with the United States and Israel.
Sweden's foreign minister, Maria Malmer Stenergard, said in a statement that the government had been informed that the citizen had been executed earlier in the day.
"It is with dismay that I have learned of information that a Swedish citizen was executed in Iran earlier today," Stenergard said. "My thoughts go out to the relatives in Sweden and Iran at this difficult time."
Stenergard criticised the use of capital punishment and questioned the judicial process that led to the execution. "The death penalty is an inhuman, cruel, and irreversible punishment. Sweden, together with the rest of the EU, condemns its application under all circumstances."
"It is clear to us that the legal process that led to the execution of the Swedish citizen has not been legally secure. The responsibility for this rests solely with Iran," the Swedish minister said. "Sweden will continue to condemn serious violations of human rights in Iran."
She said Swedish authorities had raised the case repeatedly with Iranian officials since the citizen's arrest in June 2025. "In these contacts, we have emphasized Sweden's expectation that our citizen will receive a fair trial and not be sentenced to the death penalty."
Sweden did not name the citizen in its statement. However, Iranian state media identified him as Kourosh Keyvani, a dual national of Sweden and Iran who was arrested last year and accused of "intelligence cooperation and espionage in favor of the Israeli government," according to the BBC.
Keyvani is the third person executed by Iran on espionage charges in 2026. According to the Norway-based monitoring group Iran Human Rights, at least 13 people were executed last year on similar charges.
Iran executed a Swedish citizen accused of espionage on Wednesday, prompting condemnation from Sweden's government, which said the legal process leading to the execution had not been secure.
The execution comes as Iran remains locked in a widening conflict with the United States and Israel.
Sweden's foreign minister, Maria Malmer Stenergard, said in a statement that the government had been informed that the citizen had been executed earlier in the day.
"It is with dismay that I have learned of information that a Swedish citizen was executed in Iran earlier today," Stenergard said. "My thoughts go out to the relatives in Sweden and Iran at this difficult time."
Stenergard criticised the use of capital punishment and questioned the judicial process that led to the execution. "The death penalty is an inhuman, cruel, and irreversible punishment. Sweden, together with the rest of the EU, condemns its application under all circumstances."
"It is clear to us that the legal process that led to the execution of the Swedish citizen has not been legally secure. The responsibility for this rests solely with Iran," the Swedish minister said. "Sweden will continue to condemn serious violations of human rights in Iran."
She said Swedish authorities had raised the case repeatedly with Iranian officials since the citizen's arrest in June 2025. "In these contacts, we have emphasized Sweden's expectation that our citizen will receive a fair trial and not be sentenced to the death penalty."
Sweden did not name the citizen in its statement. However, Iranian state media identified him as Kourosh Keyvani, a dual national of Sweden and Iran who was arrested last year and accused of "intelligence cooperation and espionage in favor of the Israeli government," according to the BBC.
Keyvani is the third person executed by Iran on espionage charges in 2026. According to the Norway-based monitoring group Iran Human Rights, at least 13 people were executed last year on similar charges.