(cont. from § 6) Response to interpellation 2024/25:291 on Iran
Translated from Swedish by AI; the translation may contain errors. The Swedish text is the original.
Summary AI, written in advance
S considers that Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard acts as a terrorist organization and should be classified as such 1. S argues that the government should have pursued the issue earlier and requests concrete measures to create unity in the EU as well as support for Iranian democracy activists 2. S also wants gender apartheid to be recognized as a crime against international law 3. MP considers that there should be a broad consensus on the terrorist designation and requests reasons why certain EU countries oppose this. M drives the issue of listing the IRGC under the EU's sanctions regime against terrorism 4. M argues that the government has been engaged throughout 5. M considers that Sweden continues to contribute to strong international pressure against Iran through all available means 6. M argues that this occurs through direct diplomatic contacts, critical dialogue, the EU and UN systems 6. M emphasizes that the goal is to influence and achieve a real change for people in Iran 6. M evaluates, together with international partners, how to most effectively influence Iran's actions and support the Iranian people's rightful demands for respect for human rights 6. M notes that there is much left to do 6.
Written by AI in advance and may contain errors. The numbers lead to the speech a statement builds on; check against the text below.
Alexandra Völker (S)
Madam Speaker! I thank the Minister for Foreign Affairs for the answer provided before the House adjourned for the question period. The interpellation is therefore about the situation in Iran and the need to blacklist the Islamic Revolutionary Guard.
The extensive protests for women's rights, for freedom, and for democracy continue with full force in Iran in various ways. At the same time, the Iranian regime has now further tightened the already very harsh rules for women's dress. In the middle of December, a brave woman was arrested who, during a digital concert, performed and manifested the dream of a free Iran. She was arrested because she appears without a hijab in the digital clip and because she sings.
In December, Narges Mohammadi, recipient of the 2023 Nobel Peace Prize, was temporarily released. She was temporarily released from Evin Prison for medical reasons. But during the time she was released, she continued her work with full force to be a strong voice against the Iranian regime. Now her sentence has just been extended by 15 months, precisely because of her struggle against the regime.
Narges Mohammadi is far from alone in this. We constantly see new sentences and the establishment and execution of the death penalty against people who have in different ways shown their opposition to the regime.
But it is not only in Iran that the regime uses its capital of violence to exercise power. They supply Russia with weapons systems, and they use Swedish gang criminals to carry out deeds in Sweden.
I have said it several times before from this rostrum, and I say it again: Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard acts as a terrorist organization and should therefore be classified as such.
That was also why the Riksdag in May two years ago issued a notice to the government. The notice is based on our understanding that this will not happen just because the issue is raised in meetings. The entire purpose of the notice is to press for the government to work towards creating unity. It is an incredibly important keyword in the notice that we in the committee were very careful about when we formulated this. We understand that it requires groundwork, and we understand that it truly requires active work to create that unity.
Now there is a judgment from Düsseldorf that actually means that steps forward have been taken. Therefore, I simply wonder in what way the Foreign Minister is working to create this consensus.
Jacob Risberg (MP)
Madam Speaker! It has been almost two and a half years since the young Mahsa Jina Amini was killed by the Iranian regime. This quickly led to extensive protests on the streets of Tehran, in other cities in Iran, and also around Europe. These protests have continued on and off. Even today, it happens that people are out demonstrating.
Much has happened during these two and a half years. But right from the beginning, we in the Swedish Riksdag decided to try to get the government to push for a terror listing of Iran's Revolutionary Guard.
As has been said, a lot has happened. Last year, 2024, at least 900 people were executed in Iran. That is the highest number in nine years. And right now, at least ten people risk the death penalty for their participation in the revolution - woman, life, freedom. Also, the hunt for various MR activists, MR lawyers who defend activists and protesters has increased. Much is happening and many harsh measures from Iran's Revolutionary Guard.
Just as Alexandra Völker said in her speech, there is now a judgment from a court in Düsseldorf where it has been established that the Iranian state apparatus was behind the attack against the Bochum synagogue.
I simply wonder how it is going. What is the government doing to put even more pressure on the Iranian regime? They are still sending weapons to Russia, and over the last year we have seen that they have sent missiles towards Israel. It is a rogue state. They are weakened. We receive reports of that. But continued international pressure is required to actually achieve a regime change.
I would like to hear a bit more from the Minister for Foreign Affairs about what the government is doing to put a bit more pressure on the Iranian regime.
Utrikesministern Maria Malmer Stenergard (M)
Madam Speaker! It is very good that there is agreement in the Swedish Riksdag that the IRGC should be listed under the EU's sanctions regime against terrorism. This is, of course, something that the government is pushing for, but I can state that despite the government's efforts, agreement within the EU for such a listing still remains lacking.
I also want to remind that the EU, within the framework of other sanction regimes, has already taken sharp measures against Iran, including against the IRGC as a whole and individual members of and entities within the IRGC.
Since the death of Jina Mahsa Aminis in the custody of Iranian authorities in September 2022 after she was arrested for violating the strict hijab law, the EU has, on a total of ten occasions, expanded the sanction lists against those responsible for the repression in Iran. A majority of these listings were added during Sweden's presidency of the EU.
Over 200 individuals and 40 entities are today sanctioned under only the framework aimed at precisely serious violations of human rights in Iran. Among these are several entities with links to the IRGC as well as prominent actors, such as Iran's morality police and the ministries of culture and education. The sanctions involve entry bans and freezing of assets in the EU. The sanctions also include a ban on exporting products to Iran that could be used for domestic repression.
Several Iranian individuals as well as the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence and Security are also listed under the EU's sanctions regime against terrorism.
IRGC as a whole has also been sanctioned for over a decade under the EU's regime against Iran's nuclear program. Both IRGC as an organization and a long line of individual members in the organization are therefore already subject to asset freezes and entry bans in the EU. But let me nevertheless emphasize that the government continues to work for a listing of IRGC also under the EU's sanctions regime against terrorism.
We are continuously consulting other EU countries to follow up on the conditions for taking the issue further, and we are always prepared to take further measures to signal against Iran's actions.
Alexandra Völker (S)
Madam Speaker! Thank you, Minister for Foreign Affairs, for the answer!
I agree that it is very important and good that we are united in the Riksdag. It is a strength. And we hope that the Foreign Minister, in the meetings she participates in in the EU, feels that she truly has a united Riksdag behind her.
We Social Democrats also, of course, think it is very pleasing that the Prime Minister chose to bring up this issue at the Council of Europe meeting now during this autumn. At the same time, it raised a number of questions when the government and the Prime Minister, in October 2024, almost half a year after the announcement was directed by the unanimous Riksdag, went out and said that they would then begin to pursue the issue seriously and that they were seeking support from the Riksdag. We simply had wished that it would have happened earlier and that the commitment would have come earlier. But we think it is incredibly good that the Prime Minister is also driving that issue now.
I understand that it is a complicated issue in many ways and that, as said, consensus is required. That was also why we structured the announcement as we did. But I still wonder what the Foreign Minister is doing concretely to create that consensus. Are bilateral meetings, for example, being conducted with those countries that may not be as inclined to carry out this terror listing? Or what other types of measures is the government taking to ensure that we move forward in that issue?
I also wonder what other initiatives the government is taking to support the incredibly brave women and also the men in Iran who every day fight and risk their lives. Something as simple as perhaps not wearing a certain piece of clothing can, in our view, mean risking one's life. It is, therefore, a struggle that is taken every day at all levels in Iran, and it is incredibly important that we show them our support, that we in every way we can stand up against the Iranian regime and that we truly stand up for their fight for freedom and democracy.
Jacob Risberg (MP)
Madam Speaker! Thank you, Minister for Foreign Affairs, for the answer!
It feels like we are relatively in agreement on the core issue. But we always want the government to put even more pressure on Iran.
It is worrying. It feels like it is a relatively simple issue, and there should be a broad consensus on precisely the terror-labeling of the IRGC.
We have heard before that there are countries in the EU that are resisting. I do not in any way want the Foreign Minister to single out those countries. I understand that she does not want to. But it would be good to find out a bit what the reasons are for them being against the terror listing. What are the fundamental reasons from those countries within the EU that are against these terror listings?
It is easier for us to act towards it when we know what the arguments against a terror listing are. I think there should actually be a consensus there. It should be an easy question.
I also wonder a bit about what Alexandra Völker was touching upon. How do we act to support protesters while simultaneously putting pressure on the regime in Iran? How do we act to support democracy activists and the lawyers who fight for those who are imprisoned? It feels like an enormous amount of support is required towards the Iranian people while we put pressure on Iran's regime.
I would like to hear a bit more about how we can support and how the government and the EU are working to support the democracy activists and the protesters in Iran.
Utrikesministern Maria Malmer Stenergard (M)
Madam Speaker! Sweden utilizes multilateral forums and mechanisms to convey and amplify our critical messages about and to Iran. In December 2022, for example, Iran was expelled from the UN Commission on the Status of Women, which Sweden welcomed. Within the UN system, there are also several other tools to draw attention to the situation in Iran and hold Iran accountable. Let me mention some of them.
The UN General Assembly adopts an annual resolution on human rights in Iran. There, the EU is also pushing to sharpen the wording. In the UN Human Rights Council, Sweden repeatedly, both on its own and together with like-minded countries, highlights the serious situation for human rights in Iran. At the latest session in October, Sweden stood behind a cross-regional statement focusing on the situation of women in Iran.
Together with like-minded [countries], we repeatedly urge Iran to cooperate with relevant international human rights institutions. In connection with the UN Universal Periodic Review this week, Sweden will repeat this urge to Iran. Sweden will also raise other serious issues concerning the human rights situation in Iran, such as the situation for persons belonging to ethnic and religious minorities, the application of the death penalty, and arbitrary detentions. Many of these issues I also raised bilaterally with Iran's Foreign Minister in connection with my meeting with him in September.
Alexandra Völkers' point regarding a lack of engagement at an early stage is incorrect. The engagement has truly existed all along. I am very pleased with the strong support that exists in a united Riksdag. But as has been stated previously, the legal prerequisites for proceeding with this have not existed. Now they do, and we choose to drive it from the Prime Minister's side at the highest level.
Jacob Risberg asks why some countries do not want to choose this path. Those discussions are conducted in quite confidential conversations, so I will be cautious here. But it is clear that there are always different camps in many issues regarding which path is the best to choose – should one choose the hard path with sanctions, or should one choose to attempt a more diplomatic path? It is between those that these discussions take place.
Alexandra Völker (S)
Madam Speaker! I thank the Minister for Foreign Affairs for the answers and for the interpellation debate. It is incredibly important for us to continue talking about Iran, pushing against Iran and really acting against Iran. We will continue to raise this issue, because we think it is incredibly important.
Iran is truly a great threat. Iran is a threat to its own inhabitants and a threat to the entire world. Iran uses its capital of violence against its own citizens and outside its country's borders. It is used particularly against regime opponents, even outside the country's borders. We have seen how they time and again kidnap foreign citizens in order to exert pressure, how they supply Russia with weapons systems and how they, as was discovered this spring, use Swedish gang criminals in order to carry out deeds in Sweden. It is incredibly serious.
I have also previously raised questions about how we can support the women in Iran in other ways. One such question concerns recognizing gender apartheid as a crime against international law. I believe there are many issues we need to consider and continue to work on moving forward in order to truly support the women and citizens in Iran in their democracy work.
Utrikesministern Maria Malmer Stenergard (M)
Madam Speaker! I truly welcome that there is such a strong commitment in the Riksdag and that attention is being paid to the very serious situation in Iran. I believe that Sweden has a special role to play in the work to promote the rights of women and girls in Iran. We can never accept the authoritarian regime's extensive and systematic oppression of women in Iran.
It is important that the rest of the world continues to keep its eyes on Iran. Therefore, this debate is very important. I am glad that we have it today.
Sweden continues to contribute to strong international pressure against Iran. We do this through all means available, I would say: through direct diplomatic contacts and critical dialogue, through the EU, where Sweden continues to work for a powerful and united Iran policy, and through the UN system. The goal of everything we do is to influence and achieve a real change for people in Iran. Together with other EU and international partners, we are constantly reviewing how we can most effectively influence Iran's actions and support the Iranian people's legitimate demands for respect for human rights. There is undeniably very much left to do.
Återigen: Many thanks for a very important and good debate!
Source: The Swedish Parliament. The speeches come from the open data of the Riksdag, translated into English by AI, which may contain errors.