Response to interpellation 2022/23:21 on the agreement between Sweden and Iran
Translated from Swedish by AI; the translation may contain errors. The Swedish text is the original.
Summary AI, written in advance
1 M argues that the 2017 agreements are declarations of intent and that the aviation agreement from 1975 should not be terminated as it is not in Sweden's interest 1. M emphasizes that the government cannot interfere in companies' commercial decisions 1 and that it is strategically important to act through the EU and the UN 1 2. M is ready to reconsider bilateral relations but wants to prioritize effective measures 1 2. M argues that unilaterally terminated agreements risk becoming empty symbolism or undermining Swedish interests 3. M emphasizes the importance of diplomacy to communicate messages about human rights 4.
Written by AI in advance and may contain errors. The numbers lead to the speech a statement builds on; check against the text below.
Utrikesministern Tobias Billström (M)
Madam Speaker! [The member] has asked me if the government intends to investigate whether it is possible to unilaterally terminate a number of agreements entered into with Iran and what the timeline for such a process would look like in such cases. Furthermore, he asks whether a dialogue is being held with Swedish companies regarding terminating their operations in Iran and, if that is not the case, whether I intend to initiate such a dialogue.
With reference to interpellation 2022/23:8 and 2022/23:16 and the discussion in the chamber on November 8, I want to again emphasize that I completely share Alireza Akhondis concern over the developments in Iran and the very serious situation for human rights in the country. The Government strongly condemns the Iranian authorities' violence against peaceful demonstrators.
The five agreements concluded between Sweden and Iran in 2017, which were the subject of question 2022/23:8, are, as stated, not legally binding agreements but joint declarations of intent. The agreements are handled on the Swedish side by the departments responsible for the matters, not by UD. Limited activities have occurred within the areas concerned.
Limited activities and collaborations have also occurred within the framework of the other agreements and arrangements that Alireza Akhondi has referred to in this matter, in areas such as investment protection and economic cooperation. No joint commission has been held with Iran since 2018. Two of the agreements were concluded in the 1970s during a time when Iran had a different system of government. Regarding the aviation agreement with Iran from 1975, which among other things establishes transit and traffic rights as well as capacity provisions, we do not see it as advisable or in Sweden's interest to terminate this.
In other respects, as has been previously emphasized, it is not currently relevant to work towards further developing cooperation with Iran within the framework of these various documents, especially in light of the current difficult situation for human rights in Iran.
Regarding the business community's activities in Iran, they have been affected by a number of different factors, including the EU's and, not least, the USA's sanctions. Swedish trade with Iran is therefore limited and has decreased sharply since 2018. The government, however, cannot interfere in companies' individual decisions made on commercial grounds.
I want to once again assure Alireza Akhondi that the government is prepared to reassess the bilateral relationship with Iran. We should, however, ensure that we prioritize the measures that are effective and have an impact on the situation. I therefore want to once again, as in the chamber on November 8, highlight how strategically important it is for Sweden to be able to act through the EU. When we act together with 26 other countries within the EU, through joint statements or actions, it naturally gains greater power and weight than if one country acts alone.
Sweden has therefore been proactive in ensuring that Iran was addressed during the meeting of the Council on Foreign Affairs in November. Sweden has also actively worked for further sanctions listings. On November 14, the EU adopted a decision on a second package of listings of individuals who have held high positions within, among others, the police and security services in areas where the violence against demonstrators has been most extensive. Decisions were also made on sanctions in response to Iran providing drones that Russia has used in its warfare in Ukraine.
Sweden is ready to support initiatives taken by other countries within the EU and within the UN to demonstrate international support for the women and men who stand up for their human rights in Iran. The purpose of this is not to avoid bilateral handling. The purpose is instead to use the arenas and tools that have the best conditions to make a difference for people in Iran. Parallel to this, the government will continue to convey clear messages to Iranian representatives at various levels.
Alireza Akhondi (C)
Madam Speaker! In the darkest of moments, hope is all we have - the hope for a brighter tomorrow, where the clouds have dispersed and the sun's warm rays fill us with both courage and dreams.
Dreams of freedom, dreams of equality, dreams of equity. Dreams of being able to pray to the god one wishes, dreams of being able to escape believing in a life after this. Dreams of being able to steer one's own life and shape it as one wishes. Dreams of being able to express oneself freely in the way one wishes.
Of course that sounds obvious, Tobias Billström? Something tells me that the Minister's political commitment is built on similar dreams.
My commitment in politics is, in any case, based on the dream of all people's equal rights and value, equality and equal opportunities. That is why I am so strongly involved in the Iran issue. For me, the freedoms that we sometimes take for granted are universal. They are freedoms that build societies strong and create prosperity and peace.
Only peace is worth fighting for. It is a war that can be painful in the moment. It is a war that requires courage, perseverance and sacrifices from you, me and everyone else who loves freedom.
Madam Speaker! There is no war in Iran, at least not as we imagine it. But a struggle is taking place in deadly earnest, which daily reaps innocent victims. It is children like ten-year-old Kian, who was brutally shot down by the Islamist regime's mercenaries the other day. It is young men and women with only words as weapons against a superior force that spares no means to survive.
There is sniping from rooftops and in the subway. Shots are being fired at schools. Everything is documented for us to see. There are regular executions in the open street, the imprisonment of peaceful demonstrators, and gang rapes of female prisoners so that they will not be allowed to reach "paradise." There are tens of thousands of imprisoned people whose families daily plead for mercy, for help in getting them free, for someone here in the West to hear and see them.
That is why we are here today, Tobias Billström: so that their voices will echo around the world. We shall show that we will not be silent and look away while their blood stains Iran's streets red.
Being brave does not always fall well with everyone. It is uncomfortable to be brave, to take a stand and fight for what is right and just. One has to sacrifice a part of oneself; for some, it means life itself.
I am pleased to read the Minister's written response to my questions. I can see that Tobias Billström has been somewhat impressed by the 120,000 Swedes in Iran's struggle to influence Sweden's stance towards Iran. The problem, however, is that we are not satisfied with that but demand concrete measures.
One of these measures is to use political markers that hurt the regime, a regime that, through front companies, controls all trade that takes place with Iran. In particular, the IRGC, the only means of power the regime has at its disposal, has its hands in every jar of jam available.
Against this background, it is increasingly astonishing that Swedish and European large corporations actively choose to turn a blind eye and do business with murderers who do not even spare children, this under the pretext that Sweden as a nation has bilateral agreements with the rogue state Iran.
Daniel Riazat (V)
Madam Speaker, the Minister, honorable members who are present and dear, wonderful listeners!
To put the question of the agreements that Alireza Akhondi spoke about into perspective, I unfortunately must repeat what I have said many times over the last two months. On a number of occasions, I have read out practically the same things that I will say now from the rostrum. I have also done so when I have been in the EU Committee with the Foreign Minister, and I will continue to do so until the day the Swedish government listens to us.
For those of you who do not like repetitions, I just want to say: What a pity! As long as Europe's and Sweden's highest-ranking politicians do not act on the Iran issue, many of us – I, Alireza Akhondi and many other members – will continue to raise these issues.
For two months and two days, Iran has been in flames. It is flames whose fire received a revolutionary ignition after the fundamentalist regime's morality police murdered Jina Mahsa Amini. We all know why. Iran's regime, which comes from the Stone Age, has enacted laws where women and women's clothing must be controlled and where women must be punished if they do not follow these Stone Age-like laws.
In Jina's case, it was a brutal murder. In many other cases, it has resulted in lashings, prison sentences, fines and persecution.
Over the last 43 years, the brutal dictatorial state power in Iran has persecuted, imprisoned, and murdered people whose only crime has been that they have taken up the fight for democracy, equality, freedom of expression, freedom of the press, minority rights, and gender equality. That the regime in Tehran murders innocent people is nothing new, but the revolution begun in recent months shows that this murderous regime also does not shy away from any means to silence the population.
Children and young people are murdered in the open street. University students are imprisoned, expelled, murdered or tortured - even at the universities where they study. In Baluchistan and Kurdistan we have seen how the regime uses attack helicopters, tanks and the military to kill the demonstrators. We still do not know how many have been murdered after the fire set by the regime in the Evin prison.
It is time for politicians in Sweden and Europe to show where we stand. Some of us have already done so, while others still believe that we must continue as it has always been.
Will the previous government's silence towards this dictatorship continue? Will it be more important for this government to have economic interests and bilateral agreements, or will you stand up for the Iranian people? We know what happened in the case of Turkey recently, where the Swedish government suddenly changed its stance on the issue of human rights in order to be able to enter into an agreement.
The decision at the EU summit, which the minister mentioned, was sanctions against certain individuals within the regime. That is very good. But it is far from what needs to be done to support the people's revolution in Iran. The people in Iran demand that Iran's embassies be closed. In Sweden, we have had a government, and have a government, that does not even want to call the ambassador. The people in Iran demand that Iran be thrown out of international contexts. Even on this point, there is total silence from the government. The people in Iran have demanded that the EU should not sign the nuclear energy agreement with Iran, with the fear that Europe will be even quieter regarding human rights. How will the Swedish government with you, Tobias Billström, act now?
Utrikesministern Tobias Billström (M)
Madam Speaker! I thank the interpellant and Daniel Riazat for the contributions.
The Government will continue to act in various arenas where conditions exist for a broad consensus on measures. In this way, they can achieve a strong impact in support of the protesters in Iran. The UN is, of course, another example of an important forum.
Sweden and other EU countries have, as is known, expressed clear demands for a credible investigation into Mahsa Jina Amini's death and the deadly violence against protesters that we are now seeing unfold. The responsibility to ensure justice and accountability for crimes against human rights lies primarily with each state, in this case Iran. In situations where it is evident that a just and legally secure handling cannot be provided by the state itself, there are also other paths to justice internationally.
Therefore, discussions are currently underway regarding possible measures within the framework of the UN Human Rights Council. A special session will take place as early as next week, on November 24. One of the issues that I hope will be discussed is how to achieve a credible and independent investigation of what has occurred in Iran with the aim of demanding accountability. Sweden is one of the countries that has actively supported this initiative.
At the same time, Madam Speaker, Sweden also supports the UN Special Rapporteur for Iran, who has a special mandate to monitor the development of human rights in the country on behalf of the international community. Our work within multilateral arenas such as the EU and the UN in no way implies a neglect of our bilateral commitment to the Iran issue. It does not prevent us from communicating Sweden's view on the situation with all clarity in bilateral talks at various levels.
As I said during the previous interpellation debate on Iran on November 8, we are always ready to review and reassess bilateral relations in light of the developments. It is, however, crucial that the measures we take are meaningful and effective and that we use different platforms to optimize the impact.
Alireza Akhondi (C)
Madam Speaker! I thank Tobias Billström for the answers, but they are insufficient. Perhaps your words would have sufficed a few years ago when many still believed that one could change the regime from within with silk gloves, when many of us still believed that a peaceful change could be carried out. But that time is over. Sooner or later, the tyrants show their true faces: Putin, Xi Jinping and Khamenei. And that face is not beautiful. That face harvests lives every day.
I can tell the Minister that our latest interpellation debate reached approximately 60 million people around the world. It is some kind of world record by Swedish standards. The interest, the pressure, and the expectations will not decrease moving forward.
Without answers that lead us forward, there is a risk that we will spend more time together in this chamber than the Minister spends with his wife. The stubbornness and the will to fight will not disappear, regardless of how many veiled threats the Iranian regime has sent to the Ministry for Foreign Affairs regarding me.
Yes, I have read their letter of complaint. And I laughed heartily. That the regime believes it can restrict freedom of speech in democratic Sweden and - lo and behold - silence a Swedish Member of Parliament only shows how scared they actually are.
I hope that the Minister has the courage to send the following quote from the Swedish Constitution to Iran as a response: "All public power in Sweden derives from the people. - - - The Riksdag is the people's primary representative."
Sometimes many words are not needed for the message to get across.
Madam Speaker! Let me emphasize the importance of immediately terminating all trade relations with Iran. The IRGC is a criminal mafia organization with thousands of front companies, even here at home in Sweden. They engage in arms smuggling, assassinations, and smuggling of gas and oil. They are responsible for acts of terrorism in Yemen, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Ukraine. The IRGC is responsible for the increased antisemitism among Muslims, attacks against Jewish communities and Iranian dissidents. They have recently been exposed with far-reaching plans to murder two prominent Iranian journalists at the TV channel Iran International in England, and they control the entire Iranian economy through large companies in all possible sectors. The key to stopping the regime is spelled with four letters: IRGC.
Sweden can and must not, directly or indirectly, be the guarantor that this terrorist organization seizes Swedish technology through our trade agreements with Iran.
The USA has already shown the way through powerful trade restrictions and sanctions. The EU can and must no longer drag its feet. Germany has started to act - Sweden must follow suit.
A free Iran is an inexhaustible source for Swedish investments for the benefit of both a free Iran and my beloved Sweden.
Against this background, I still wonder: When will the concrete steps come, Tobias Billström? When will the IRGC be classified as a terrorist organization, their assets seized, and their children and grandchildren who live luxurious lives in Europe have their visas revoked?
Daniel Riazat (V)
Madam Speaker! I want to say that I stand behind every word that Alireza Akhondi said here.
Regarding these five agreements, it might seem like it is something small. But is it really something small, and is it something important to continue with? Then one wonders why the government wants to do it.
We have heard this talk before regarding Saudi Arabia. It ended with Sweden helping to build a weapons factory in Saudi Arabia, not with human rights being improved.
We have seen it in the case of Turkey when an agreement was signed. It has not led to democracy in Turkey being expanded, on the contrary.
I want the Foreign Minister to misunderstand me correctly. We who are Iranians in Sweden or in the rest of the world do not want Sweden and Europe to carry out this revolution for our people. What we are looking for and what we demand is, firstly, that the European governments, including the Swedish one, shall stop helping the Iranian regime and, secondly, that everything that can be done shall be done to facilitate the people's revolution - for it is the people's revolution.
In those five agreements, there are aspects where Sweden sends a signal that one does not care that a nine-year-old was murdered yesterday, brutally murdered by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard. A signal is sent that one does not care when people on the streets of Iran scream "zan, zendegi, azadi!" or "jin, jiyan, azadi!", which means woman, life, freedom. It is not enough. It is not enough for us who sit in this chamber, it is not enough for the people sitting in the stands here today, and it is not enough for the tens of thousands and millions of people who are out on the streets in Iran every day with their lives at stake, as they know that they will either be imprisoned or die. And they shall hear Sweden's Foreign Minister and other foreign ministers either be silent or say that it is important that we continue with these bilateral agreements. No, it is not. You have a choice to make now, Foreign Minister.
Utrikesministern Tobias Billström (M)
Madam Speaker! Let me begin by saying that I naturally welcome the broad commitment that exists here in the Riksdag for the Iranians who are demonstrating for their rights. The Government condemns the violence that the Iranian security forces use against the peaceful demonstrators and is as concerned about the developments in Iran as several members in this chamber are.
The broad political consensus on this issue is important. There are many Swedes all over the country who are engaged in what is happening in Iran, which is demonstrated, not least by the number of listeners here in the chamber today. There is no doubt that we need to act in support of the brave individuals, not least the many women and girls, who take to the streets of Iran to make their voices heard at the risk of their lives.
The question is how we best go about supporting them. Unilaterally terminating our agreements and letters of intent with Iran, as the questioner suggests, would in many cases risk appearing as empty symbolism since no activities are ongoing. In other cases, a unilateral withdrawal would instead undermine our own interests, as in the case of the aviation agreement or the agreement on mutual investment protection. The Government cannot control the priorities of Swedish companies. At the same time, I can state that trade with Iran, as said, is already very limited today.
Therefore, I want to once again emphasize the importance of the measures now being taken, which are directly aimed at individuals and institutions that have a direct responsibility for the violations of human rights that are currently being committed in Iran. By acting in unison with other countries, we can exert maximum political pressure on Iran.
I therefore welcome that the EU's foreign ministers in the Council for Foreign Affairs in Brussels were able this week to decide on an additional 31 sanction listings within the framework of the EU's MR sanctions against Iran. The listings include, among others, Iran's Minister of Interior as well as local commanders for both the IRGC and other special forces across the country, that is to say individuals who have had direct responsibility for violence against protesters.
Like many others and just as the interpellor Alireza Akhondi has, I have reacted to reports that Iranians have been deprived of their liberty for having expressed their opinions online and that access to the internet has been severely restricted in Iran during the protests. I therefore welcome that we within the EU have also been able to sanction the head of Iran's cyber police and the cyber police as a unit. Iran's information minister has also been listed.
It is central that we maintain unity within the EU and that we continue to act collectively and in a coordinated manner. We must constantly review the tools at our disposal in order to be able to react effectively to the developments in Iran.
At the last council meeting, I therefore proposed that Iran be raised again at the next meeting of the Foreign Ministers in December, this time as an agenda item and not under current issues.
As the incoming President of the EU during the spring of 2023, Sweden will have a special responsibility to continue to work for EU unity on the issue.
Alireza Akhondi (C)
Madam Speaker! Yes, Tobias Billström, what can we do that helps? I have heard these arguments before, and it is obvious that they do not change the regime's behavior.
How can we achieve unity in the EU circle when Hungary the other day signed a new agreement with Iran? How do we then ensure that we can exert pressure, maximum pressure, on the Islamist regime in Iran to achieve these goals? And why does the government not turn to Germany, which has shown courage by deporting imams and clearly stating that the IRGC is a terrorist organization?
Why does everything have to be made so complicated? If we don't have any significant trade exchange with Iran, what does it matter if we cancel these trade agreements? Why can't the government show some kind of decisiveness and take the right side of history? It would show the rest of the world and Iran that we never compromise on all the values that have built our beautiful country strong - freedom, equality, and democracy.
In two weeks, we will have a new session here, Tobias Billström. Your cabinet colleague Parisa Liljestrand will also have to be held accountable for the mosque in Järfälla that functions as a terror and espionage center. And you can see that there are a huge number of people here. There are very many who are watching this online. Be so sure - both we in the Riksdag and we in the large Iranian diaspora demand that the minister actually does something.
Utrikesministern Tobias Billström (M)
Madam Speaker! I thank the interpellor and the participant for their great commitment to this issue.
I want to emphasize, as it was touched upon in this discussion, how important diplomacy is. Diplomacy is needed when the situation is at its most difficult. This must never be confused with diffidence. There are several reasons for the need for proactive diplomacy with Iran.
We now need to convey clear messages about what is happening in Iran. The Swedes with roots in Iran - I am glad Alireza Akhondi mentioned the large diaspora - who perhaps have family in Iran likely expect us as elected representatives and the government to convey our view on what is happening to Iranian representatives and that we now stand up for human rights.
I spoke personally with my Iranian counterpart Amir-Abdollahian on November 11. It was an opportunity to, at a high political level, call for an end to the brutal violence from the Iranian authorities and respect for the Iranian people's demands for human rights. I was extremely clear during the conversation with my Iranian counterpart.
I also want again, Madam Speaker, to remind that a number of Swedish citizens are deprived of their liberty in Iran. The government has a duty to protect the interests of these deprived Swedes. The Ministry for Foreign Affairs continues to work very actively with these cases. We are in close and continuous contact with representatives for Iran in this matter, which I also raised in the conversation with Amir-Abdollahian on November 11.
I can, Madam Speaker, assure the Chamber that at different levels we continue to clearly and distinctly communicate our view on the abuses and human rights violations that have occurred in Iran and our demands that they must cease.
Source: The Swedish Parliament. The speeches come from the open data of the Riksdag, translated into English by AI, which may contain errors.