Iran says academic on death row receives care, dismissing Swedish concerns

Iran said on Saturday that death row inmate Ahmadreza Jalali had "access to medical care", after Sweden demanded the release of the dual national following reports he had suffered a heart attack.

In a post on X that did not mention Swedish-Iranian academic Jalali by name, Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that "despite the seriousness of the convicted criminal's offences he has, like other prisoners, access to medical care and facilities".

Jalali was arrested in 2016 and sentenced to death the following year on espionage charges, and was granted Swedish citizenship while in jail.

His wife, Vida Mehrannia, said in a post on X on Friday that he had suffered a heart attack in Tehran's Evin prison.

"After nine years of suffering, his health is declining rapidly. His life is at immediate risk and he must urgently receive proper care," she said, calling on Swedish leaders "to do everything in their power to secure his immediate release".

Later On Friday, Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard said on X she had spoken with Araghchi and demanded that Jalali "immediately receive the specialised care he needs".

She also said Jalali "must now be immediately released on humanitarian grounds so that he can be reunited with his family".

In his post on Saturday, the Iranian foreign minister said that "instead of walking further into a dead end, I call on my Swedish counterpart @MariaStenergard to reconsider the choices that have brought us where we are today".

Araghchi accused Sweden of undermining ties.

"There was a time when relations between Iran and Sweden flourished... but over the past decade, we have seen a regrettable shift," he said.

He criticised Sweden's decision to grant citizenship "to a convicted criminal AFTER his sentencing", again referring to Jalali.

Tehran does not recognise dual nationality.

In June 2024, Iran freed two Swedes in a prisoner swap for former Iranian official Hamid Noury, who was serving a life sentence in Sweden.