Sweden Claims Iran Responsible for 2023 Cyber Attack in the Country

On Tuesday, Swedish prosecutors accused Iran's intelligence agency of hacking a text message operator in Sweden in 2023. According to these prosecutors, the Islamic Republic sent messages encouraging individuals to take revenge for the burning of the Quran in Sweden. According to AFP, the Swedish prosecution stated that approximately 15,000 messages requesting revenge against those who burned the Quran were sent from Iran in the summer of 2023. The Swedish prosecution indicated that the purpose of this action by Iran was to 'create a rift in Swedish society.' Meanwhile, Sweden's intelligence agency, SAPO, claimed in a separate statement that it had identified a hacking group operating 'on behalf of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.' Fredrik Hallström, SAPO's operations manager, stated that 'one of the group's goals was to portray Sweden as an Islamophobic country.' On July 31, 2023, nearly fourteen months ago, Swedish media reported that many citizens received text messages calling for retaliatory action against those who burned the Quran. The Swedish prosecution found that a group called 'Anzo Team' was behind this operation; however, since there is no possibility of prosecuting and holding the members of this group accountable, the case has been closed. Mats Ljungqvist, the chief prosecutor of the case, stated, 'Since this group acted on behalf of a foreign power, namely Iran, our assessment is that the conditions necessary to request the extradition of the suspects to Sweden are not met.' In the summer of the previous year, after several protest events including Quran burning, Sweden's security agency, SAPO, raised the security threat level to 4, which is one level below the highest possible level. These protest events held during the summer of 2023 affected Sweden's relations with several Muslim countries in the Middle East. In July of that year, Iraqi protesters attacked the Swedish embassy in Baghdad twice, setting parts of it on fire. The Swedish government condemned the act of Quran burning, which had previously occurred several times by some citizens in that country, but at the same time stated that it could not prevent actions that are considered permissible under freedom of expression laws. However, the governments of Sweden and Denmark, whose relations with Islamic countries have soured after the burning of the holy book of Muslims in their countries, announced at the beginning of August last year that they were considering the possibility of prohibiting insults to religious texts, including burning them. Sylvan Momika and Sylvan Najm, two Iraqi Christian refugees, burned the Quran twice in front of the Iraqi embassy in Stockholm and also in front of a mosque in the city, trampling on it. They stated that they would continue to do this until the book, which they claim 'promotes violence,' is 'banned.' The Swedish government condemned the actions of the two Iraqi refugees residing in the country, but the Stockholm police had granted them permission to gather under the framework of 'freedom of expression.' On August 12 of the previous year, Swedish media reported that a woman named Marjan Birami burned the Quran in the Bromma area of Stockholm. Reports indicate that Ms. Birami, 47, is of Iranian descent. Last year, the foreign ministers of 57 member countries of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation held a virtual meeting regarding a united response to the burning and trampling of the Quran in Sweden and Europe. At the same time, in countries like Pakistan, Yemen, and Turkey, thousands of protests were held against 'insults to the Quran' directed at Sweden and Denmark. Islamic countries such as Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Morocco, Qatar, and Egypt criticized the 'insult' to the Quran in the Scandinavian lands and submitted their protests to the governments of Stockholm and Copenhagen. However, Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, called for 'the severest punishment' for those responsible for the 'insult to the Quran.' Hassan Nasrallah, the Secretary-General of Hezbollah, also urged Muslims to act 'fire at will' against the offenders. The bilateral relations between Stockholm and Tehran have faced many ups and downs in recent years. The arrest and trial of Hamid Noury in Sweden on charges of involvement in the mass executions of prisoners at Evin prison in 1988 was one of the most significant issues that soured relations between the two sides. Hamid Noury was arrested at Stockholm airport in December 2019 and sentenced to life imprisonment in the summer of 2021. However, three months ago, the two countries announced an agreement for a prisoner exchange, under which Hamid Noury was exchanged for Johan Flodros, a Swedish EU diplomat, and Saadi Azizi, another Swedish citizen. Flodros had been detained since May 2021 on charges of espionage and faced the possibility of a death sentence. Ahmad Jalali, another Iranian-Swedish citizen, was invited to Iran but was arrested, tried, and sentenced to death on charges of espionage. This researcher remains imprisoned in Iran, and his wife accuses the Swedish government of inaction in efforts to secure his release. Habib Asyoud, another dual Iranian-Swedish citizen, was kidnapped during a trip to Turkey in September 2020 and transferred to Iran. The Islamic Republic accused him of leading 'Harakat al-Nidal,' a separatist movement of Arab Khuzestan, and executed him in April 2023. In May of this year, the Swedish security agency, SAPO, accused Iran of attempting to recruit members of Swedish criminal gangs for violent acts against Israeli interests and citizens in Sweden.