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Sweden Accuses Stockholm Mosque Of Aiding Iranian Spying, Cuts State Funding

Sweden’s government halted funding to the Imam Ali Islamic Center after intelligence reports linked it to Iranian spying activities. Iran has protested the detention of the center’s head in Sweden.

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Sweden Accuses Stockholm Mosque Of Aiding Iranian Spying, Cuts State Funding

Sweden’s government has accused a Shi’ite Muslim mosque in Stockholm of serving as a platform for Iranian espionage against Sweden and the Iranian diaspora, prompting the suspension of state funding.

On Monday, Sweden’s Minister for Social Affairs, Jakob Forssmed, said on X that the Swedish Security Service had found that the Imam Ali Islamic Center was being used by Iran for intelligence activities that posed a threat to national security.

“This is very serious,” Forssmed said, warning that the government had stopped all financial support for the center. He also referred to an “additional process,” but declined to go further. “State money should not be used for activities that are in conflict with fundamental democratic values,” he said.

The mosque couldn’t be immediately reached for comment, but a statement on its website denied it had any affiliations with political organizations or other foreign states. It claimed to be an independent organization that enforces tight oversight to ensure nothing illegal occurs in the building.

Meanwhile, Iran has protested the alleged detention of the mosque’s head. According to Iran’s state news agency IRNA, Swedish authorities arrested the individual without allowing access to family or Iranian diplomats. Iran summoned Sweden’s ambassador in Tehran to express its strong objections.

Sweden’s Foreign Ministry has not yet commented on the alleged detention or confirmed whether an arrest took place.