Sweden and Iran Exchange Prisoners in a Breakthrough Swap

Iran and Sweden exchanged prisoners on Saturday in a major breakthrough, according to the Swedish prime minister.

Iran released the European Union diplomat and Swedish national Johan Floderus, who had been arrested in April 2022 in Tehran, as well as the dual national Saeed Azizi, the Swedish prime minister said.

“It is with pleasure that I can announce that Johan Floderus and Saeed Azizi are now on a plane home to Sweden, and will soon be reunited with their families,” the prime minister, Ulf Kristersson, said on social media.

In exchange, Sweden released Hamid Noury, a high-ranking Iranian official who had been sentenced to life in a Swedish court for war crimes committed in 1988 in Iran.

The swap was coordinated with the help of Oman, according to a statement published by the Omani state news agency.

Vivian Nereim contributed reporting from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.