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Iran Prisoner Says Sweden Left Him Behind in Jail

A view of the entrance to Evin prison in Tehran, Iran (Reuters)
A view of the entrance to Evin prison in Tehran, Iran (Reuters)
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Iran Prisoner Says Sweden Left Him Behind in Jail

A view of the entrance to Evin prison in Tehran, Iran (Reuters)
A view of the entrance to Evin prison in Tehran, Iran (Reuters)

A Swedish-Iranian dual national has accused Sweden's prime minister of leaving him out of a prisoner swap in a call from the Iranian jail where he remains incarcerated, daily Expressen reported on Tuesday.

The two countries carried out a prisoner exchange on Saturday, with Sweden freeing a former Iranian official convicted for his role in a mass execution in the 1980s while Iran released two Swedes being held there.

Ahmadreza Djalali, an emergency medicine doctor, remains in Tehran's Evin prison after he was arrested in 2016 while on an academic visit to Iran.

Djalali was sentenced to death in 2022 on charges of spying for Israel, and Iran's judiciary in the same year ruled out a prisoner swap for him.

"You chose to leave me behind, with a high risk of being executed," Djalali said in a telephone conversation with his wife Vida Mehrannia, who recorded it and shared it with the newspaper. His comments were addressed to Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, AFP reported.

"I am speaking to you from Evin prison. It's a terrible cave, where I've spent eight years and two months, almost 3,000 days of my life," Expressen quoted him as saying.

"I'm very happy that the other two were released. One Iranian-Swedish, the other Swedish. But it is clearly a case of discrimination," he added.

Swedish Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom said on Saturday that Iran had refused to even consider Djalali a Swedish citizen after he received citizenship in the Nordic country, where he lived and worked prior to his arrest, while in Iranian prison.

Billstrom said in an emailed comment to Reuters on Tuesday that Sweden had not given up on Djalali and would continue efforts to have him freed.

"The government and the security services did everything possible to ensure that Djalali would come home together with Floderus and Azizi," Billstrom said, adding that he was due to have a previously scheduled meeting with Djalali's wife.

"As the prime minister has said, he has a great understanding of the despair Djalali and his family feel. They have our deepest sympathy ... For the sake of Djalali's own safety, we cannot say more than what we have already said."

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Russia Seeks to Serve as Mediator between US and Iran

Iran's and US' flags are seen printed on paper in this illustration taken January 27, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
Iran's and US' flags are seen printed on paper in this illustration taken January 27, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
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Russia Seeks to Serve as Mediator between US and Iran

Iran's and US' flags are seen printed on paper in this illustration taken January 27, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights
Iran's and US' flags are seen printed on paper in this illustration taken January 27, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights

Russia has offered to mediate between the United States and Iran, a source briefed on discussions told Reuters on Tuesday, as the Kremlin vowed to do everything possible to facilitate a peaceful solution to tensions over Tehran's nuclear program.

Russia's state-run Zvezda media outlet reported earlier on Tuesday, citing Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, that President Vladimir Putin had agreed to mediate between Tehran and Washington in talks over nuclear weapons.

A source briefed on the discussions, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters that Russia had offered to act as an intermediary, but Moscow was not asked to serve in such a role.

Iran's mission to the United Nations in New York declined to comment.

The development comes after US President Donald Trump upended US policy after taking office in January, taking a more conciliatory stance towards Russia that has left Western allies wary as he tries to broker an end to Moscow's three-year war in Ukraine.

Peskov told reporters on Tuesday that Iran was Russia's partner and ally and Moscow would continue to develop relations.

"President Putin believes and is convinced that the problem of Iran's nuclear dossier should be solved solely by peaceful means," he said. "Of course, Russia, being an Iranian ally, will be doing all what is possible to facilitate the peaceful solution to the problem."

Trump last month restored his "maximum pressure" campaign on Iran in a bid to stop Tehran from building a nuclear weapon. But he also said he was open to a deal and was willing to talk to Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian.

"The Trump administration will talk to our adversaries and allies alike, but ... from a position of strength to defend our national security," Brian Hughes, spokesperson for the White House National Security Council, said on Tuesday.

SANCTIONS 'SNAPBACK'

Iran has denied wanting to develop a nuclear weapon. However, it is "dramatically" accelerating enrichment of uranium to up to 60% purity, close to the roughly 90% weapons-grade level, the UN nuclear watchdog has warned.

Western states say there is no need to enrich uranium to such a high level under any civilian program and that no other country has done so without producing nuclear bombs. Iran says its nuclear program is peaceful.

"The United States will not tolerate Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon or their support of terror in the Middle East and around the world," Hughes said.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday, conveying "that he anticipates close coordination in addressing the threats posed by Iran and pursuing opportunities for a stable region," State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce said.

Iran agreed a deal in 2015 with Britain, Germany, France, the US, Russia and China - known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) - that lifted sanctions on Tehran in return for restrictions on its nuclear program.

Washington quit the agreement in 2018 during Trump's first term as president, and Iran began moving away from its nuclear-related commitments.

Britain, France and Germany have told the UN Security Council that they are ready - if needed - to trigger a so-called "snap back" of all international sanctions on Iran to prevent the country from acquiring a nuclear weapon.

They will lose the ability to take such action on October 18 next year when the 2015 UN resolution on the deal expires. Trump has directed his UN envoy to work with allies to snapback international sanctions and restrictions on Iran.