Iran and Sweden Conduct Prisoner Exchange

Iran and Sweden exchanged prisoners on Saturday, providing relief to the families involved but also sparking concerns that the swap might encourage Iran's practice of detaining foreign nationals on dubious charges to gain leverage over Western countries.

Iran freed an EU diplomat and a dual Iranian-Swedish citizen. In return, Sweden released Hamid Nouri, the first Iranian official convicted of crimes against humanity. Nouri received a life sentence from a Swedish court in 2022 for his involvement in torture, war crimes, and the 1988 mass execution of 5,000 dissidents. His conviction was celebrated as a significant example of cross-border justice.