The Swedish intelligence agency Sapo announced on Thursday that Iran might have been implicated in recent explosions and gunfire incidents near Israeli embassies in Sweden and Denmark. In Denmark, authorities arrested three Swedish nationals on Wednesday following two blasts, likely caused by hand grenades, near the Israeli embassy in Copenhagen. On Tuesday, the Israeli embassy in Stockholm was reportedly targeted by gunfire, according to Swedish police.
When questioned about potential links to Iran, Fredrik Hallstrom, the head of operations at Sapo, stated at a press conference that "there are certain indicators that could suggest Iran's involvement." He added, "This is partly due to the selection of targets and the method of operation, though it remains an assumption rather than confirmed knowledge."
In May, Sapo had previously claimed that Iran was attempting to recruit members of Swedish criminal gangs to carry out "acts of violence" against Israeli and other interests in Sweden, a claim that Iran denied. Swedish broadcaster SVT reported on Wednesday that it had received information suggesting that the latest embassy attacks were ordered by the Swedish criminal network Foxtrot, acting on Iran's behalf.
A Danish court ordered the detention of two of the arrested Swedes, aged 16 and 19, for 27 days. Meanwhile, Copenhagen police released the third Swede, who was apprehended near the crime scene. Since the start of the Israel-Hamas conflict in October 2023, several incidents targeting Israeli interests in Sweden have been reported. In February, a grenade was discovered on the grounds of the Israeli embassy compound, which the ambassador deemed an attempted attack. In May, gunfire outside the Israeli embassy led to heightened security measures around Israeli interests and Jewish community institutions.
