Swedish officials have accused Iran of orchestrating a cyberattack that involved sending thousands of text messages to individuals in Sweden, calling for retaliation against those who burned the Quran in 2023.
According to a senior prosecutor Mats Ljungqvist, the preliminary investigation conducted by Sweden’s SAPO domestic security agency revealed that the Iranian state, through the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), was responsible for the data breach at a Swedish company that operates a major SMS service.
The preliminary investigation has been closed, but Ljungqvist noted that this does not mean the suspected hackers have been completely exonerated, and the probe could be reopened in the future.
The text messages, sent in Swedish, were attributed to a group called the “Anzu team” and contained threats against those who desecrated the Quran, referring to Swedes as “demons.” The protests involving the burning of the Quran were held under the protection of Sweden’s freedom of speech act, despite causing a rift between the country’s commitment to free speech and its respect for religious minorities.
The incidents had temporarily complicated Sweden’s bid to join Nato, as Turkey and its President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had blocked the accession, citing anti-Turkish and anti-Islamic protests in Stockholm. However, Sweden eventually became a Nato member in March.
Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, had previously issued a statement condemning the desecration of the Quran in Sweden, saying that it had “created feelings of hatred and enmity” in Muslim nations towards those responsible and their governments.
SAPO’s operational manager, Fredrik Hallström, accused foreign powers of exploiting vulnerabilities and acting more aggressively, without specifically naming any country.
Sweden, like many Western countries, does not have any blasphemy laws, and there is no specific law prohibiting the burning or desecration of religious texts.
In May, Sweden’s domestic security agency had also accused Iran of using established criminal networks in Sweden to target Israeli or Jewish interests in the country.
