Sweden and the European Commission announced today that a Swedish national is being held in Iran — the latest known case of a third-country national being held in Iran amid political tensions with the West.

“A Swedish citizen — a man in his 30s — was arrested and detained in Iran in April 2022,” the foreign ministry in Stockholm said, adding: “The foreign ministry and the Swedish embassy in Tehran are working intensively on case and maintain close contact with the EU”.

A Commission spokesman confirmed today that a Swedish national is being held in Iran, but declined to give further details.

Earlier today The New York Times reported that a Swedish citizen, who the newspaper said works for the EU diplomatic corps, has been imprisoned in Iran for more than 500 days.

Sweden and the EU have not named the man.

“In our assessment, it would complicate the management of the case if the ministry were to publicly discuss its actions. Given this, we see no reason to confirm any names,” the Swedish Foreign Ministry said.