TEHRAN (Iran News) Speaking during a meeting with Sweden’s ambassador to Iran, Samad Hassanzadeh, President of the Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines, and Agriculture, emphasized that both countries’ commercial ties could return to previous levels — or even surpass them — with collaborative effort from their embassies and respective chambers of commerce.

“Iran welcomes the entry of Swedish foundational technologies into the country,” Hassanzadeh stated. “We have had a successful experience with Swedish joint investments in the automotive industry and industrial units in the past, and we hope to repeat that success.”

He highlighted Iran’s vast potential in various sectors, including petrochemicals, oil refining, pharmaceuticals, agriculture, food and dried fruits, handicrafts, and carpets. With competitive pricing in Iran, he suggested that Swedish companies consider participating in large-scale projects such as the development of power plants.

Commenting on the ongoing diplomatic talks between Iran and the United States, Hassanzadeh noted a shift in the Iranian government’s approach toward expanding international relations. “Given the positive outlook for negotiations, we believe closer ties with Sweden and other European nations are within reach. I am confident the talks will conclude favorably for all involved,” he said.

Despite sanctions, Hassanzadeh pointed out that foreign companies have been able to engage in joint ventures in sectors not subject to restrictions, with the Iranian government providing the necessary guarantees for capital returns and profit repatriation.

As the representative of Iran’s private sector, Hassanzadeh formally invited the Swedish ambassador to help explore the revival of previously successful joint ventures, such as the Volvo automobile production project. He requested a detailed report on existing barriers to be submitted to the Iran Chamber, promising full cooperation to resolve them.

He also extended an invitation to the President of Sweden’s Chamber of Commerce to lead a business delegation to Iran. “Such a visit would facilitate greater mutual understanding and foster commercial ties between Iranian and Swedish businesses,” Hassanzadeh noted. He added that the formation of a joint Iran-Sweden chamber of commerce would be a valuable step toward enhancing bilateral cooperation.

Sweden’s ambassador to Iran, Mattias Otterstedt, responded positively, expressing confidence in the complementary nature of the Iranian and Swedish economies. He identified several promising areas for collaboration, including heavy vehicle manufacturing, power generation, telecommunications, pharmaceuticals, steel, and mining.

However, Otterstedt acknowledged ongoing difficulties in financial transactions and banking due to international sanctions. “We hope the negotiations will lead to the lifting of sanctions so we can revive our economic relations,” he said.

He also pointed out that sanctions imposed over a decade ago had led to a generational gap in commercial experience. “Many of the experienced businesspeople have left the field, and some institutional knowledge has been lost. It is now up to both countries’ chambers of commerce to revive that experience and share information.”

Otterstedt emphasized that some trade obstacles are indeed surmountable and expressed Sweden’s intention to build new networks with Iran’s private sector. “If sanctions are lifted, and considering the tariff wars sparked during the Trump era, manufacturers will certainly look for new production hubs — and Iran will be a strong candidate,” he concluded.

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TEHRAN (Iran News) – Since the end of the Second World War, Finland and Sweden, have maintained strict policies of neutrality between Russia and NATO, viewing membership of The North Atlantic Treaty Organization as a provocation to Moscow.

Both Sweden and Finland also took a neutral stance throughout the Cold War.

With Finland already set to hand in its application, Sweden’s prime minister Magdalena Andersson is now all but certain to launch a formal application within days.

The developments come despite opposition from Turkey, warnings of retaliation from Russia, and domestic protests against the move in Sweden.

The announcements abandon decades of military non-alignment by the two countries whose governments will now present their proposals to their respective parliaments and are expected to formally submit a joint membership application to the 30-member alliance as soon as the decisions are ratified.

Finnish President Sauli Niinisto hailed the decision as a “historic day” for the Nordic country (which shares an 810-mile – 1,300km – border with Russia) saying “the government’s foreign policy committee have agreed that after consulting parliament, Finland will apply for Nato membership,”

Niinisto spoke to his Russian counterpart, Putin, on the phone and informed him that his country aimed to join Nato, in a conversation he described as “direct and straightforward”.

According to a readout of the call released by the Kremlin Putin reportedly responded to Niinisto’s call by saying Nato membership “would be a mistake, since there is no threat to Finland’s security”.

Likewise, Russia’s deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov has said that “this is another grave mistake with far-reaching consequences, the general level of military tensions will increase.”

Ryabkov warned the two countries “should have no illusions that Russia will simply put up with their decision. It is a pity that common sense is being sacrificed for some phantom ideas about what should be done in the current situation.”

The Kremlin had also previously warned Helsinki and Stockholm against joining the bloc and promised an appropriate response should they make such a move. In the wake of the announcements, the Kremlin has said the decisions represented a hostile move that threatened Russia, warning vaguely of “retaliatory steps, both of a military-technical and other nature”.

Turkey has expressed dissatisfaction over any Finnish and Swedish membership, which requires the unanimous approval of the alliance’s members. The Turkish foreign minister says that “Sweden and Finland must stop supporting terrorist groups in their countries and provide clear security guarantees.”

Speaking after a Nato foreign ministers’ meeting in Berlin, the Turkish minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that Turkey was “not threatening anybody” but that while Finland’s approach was conciliatory, Sweden was not being so constructive.

Ankara is said to be particularly concerned about Sweden’s support for the PKK Kurdish militant group, designated as a terrorist group by Turkey.

Sweden’s ruling Social Democrats party say they back the country joining the Western military alliance NATO, abandoning decades of opposition to the move.

In a statement, the Social Democrats said the party board held a meeting on May 15, 2022, and “decided that the party will work toward Sweden applying for membership in NATO,”

Swedish Prime minister, Magdalena Andersson, told a news conference “we believe Sweden needs the formal security guarantees that come with membership in Nato.”

She admitted her country’s non-alignment policy had served Sweden well but claims it “will not do so in the future”.

However, the move has divided her own party, with some members arguing that the decision has been rushed through.

The increasing sense of inevitability over the NATO application process has caused fury among some in the Social Democrats.

Last year’s party congress backed retaining Sweden’s traditional policy of non-alignment while, in December, the Social Democrat-led government refused to back an opposition demand for a “Nato option” in its security policy.

At Social Democrat party meetings across the country, many MPs have reported huge resistance to Nato membership, the pace of the decision-making – and often both.

The vice-chairman of parliament’s defense committee, Niklas Karlsson who is also a Social Democrat MP for the southern Scania region says there was a “strong majority” among his local party members to maintain non-alignment, despite concerns and hesitation caused by Russia’s offensive.

“There is criticism that this is far too short a time to discuss such a complex issue,” he said. “I will address this at the party board… If the decision is to extend the time for the discussion, I will be happy.”

Meanwhile, the Social Democrat chairman in the southern city of Helsingborg, Mikael Andersson, also criticized the Swedish process saying it has been “far too fast for such a complex issue. I am critical of the fact that it has been forced forward,” he told Swedish media.

Anders Lindberg, the political editorialist at Aftonbladet, an independent social-democratic daily argues “It’s not Sweden deciding the timeline, it’s Finland because they share a 1,300-km border with Russia”

Experts say there has never been any Russian threat to Finland or Sweden. Moscow has repeatedly warned both countries against joining NATO, saying such a move would oblige it to “restore military balance” by strengthening its defenses in the Baltic Sea region, including the deployment of nuclear weapons.

An organization called “SAY NO TO NATO” has staged a demonstration against Sweden’s potential membership of North Atlantic Treaty Organization in the capital Stockholm.

Protesters argued the Swedish government’s main task should be protecting the country’s independence and peace and that joining NATO would run counter to that task and escalate the current situation.

Crowds of protesters laid slogans on ground reading “North Atlantic Terrorism Organization”

Ulf Sparrbage, an organizer of the demonstration says “we don’t think that NATO is an organization for peace. NATO has been making wars without any native countries have been attacked militarily. Still, they have destroyed a large part of West Asia, Afghanistan, and so forth.”

He added that “NATO go out their own jurisdiction to fight other countries, and it has caused a lot of problems in the world. We don’t want be an enemy with Russia. We believe in dialogue and try to make an agreement and so forth. We want to stay neutral with no alliance.”

Marcus McBay another protester in attendance says “I think it’s a good opportunity to show that there is a lot of people, especially youth, that are against this because we are the generation that’s going to be most affected by this.”

Nato’s secretary-general, Jens Stoltenberg, has regularly said both countries would be “welcomed with open arms” and that the accession process would be quick.

Once vetted by NATO allies, approval of membership for both countries could come in just a matter of weeks. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken says Washington “would strongly support the NATO application by either Sweden or Finland should they choose to formally apply to the alliance,” adding he heard “almost across-the-board very strong support” for the NATO bids. “I’m very confident that we will reach a consensus,” he said.

The irony is that Ukraine has not been  “welcomed with open arms” by NATO and it’s accession process has been condemned by Kyiv for being far too slow.

With Russia’s conflict in Ukraine sending economic and diplomatic shockwaves across the globe, experts have argued further expanding NATO toward Russian borders will not help ease the tensions.

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Hamid Nouri was arrested at Stockholm Airport in 2019 and charges brought against him include human rights abuses against prisoners dating back to 1988. The accusation again Nouri are mostly taken from members of the Mujahedin Khalq Organization (MKO). The MKO has been accused of fabricating atrocities multiple times. Again raising questions about the credibility of the prosecution who wish to see Nouri sentenced to life. If we have a glance at the record of MKO, we see a black record with killing of many innocent people in Iran.

Last Friday and during the 89th session of his trial, Swedish prosecutors read a summary of Nouri’s indictment in court, a day after submitting a request for life imprisonment for him.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry condemned the continued detention of the former Iranian official as “totally illegal” and driven by “false allegations made by the MKO terrorist organization and the hostile smear campaign against the Islamic Republic.”

Reacting to the indictment, Secretary of Iran’s High Council for Human Rights Kazem Gharibabadi lambasted as “unlawful and unfair” the trial of a former Iranian official in Sweden over alleged rights abuses.

Gharibabadi made the remarks after Swedish prosecutors requested the maximum penalty of life imprisonment for Nouri, accusing the former Iranian judiciary official of prisoner abuse in 1988.

Nouri was arrested upon arrival in Sweden at Stockholm Airport in 2019 and was immediately imprisoned. Nouri, now 61, has been held in solitary confinement for over two years and his family has not been allowed to visit him in prison.

Gharibabadi said Nouri’s trial was “sham” and in violation of justice and human rights principles, adding that he had been arrested based on false accusations and that his detention was regarded as “forced disappearance” since his family had been kept unaware of the arrest.

Meanwhile according to the reports, the family of an Iranian citizen on trial in Sweden has released shocking allegations of mistreatment as they continue to fight a lengthy legal battle for his release.

Shocking footage of Nouri’s family being harassed by anti-Iran dissidents has deepened Iranian outrage at the Swedish authorities handling of the case.

Nouri’s family have been in and out of court all week. Every time they arrive supporters of a notorious anti-Iranian terror group, the Peoples Mujahedinof Iran, or MKO, harass and threaten them.

The Swedish authorities are slow to respond.

This is not the first time the Western countries and especially Europeans are resorting to such dramatic accusations and trials to paint a negative picture of the Islamic Republic of Iran while those countries are first better to have a look at their own pictures and records regarding justice and human rights.

Sweden for years has turned into a haven for terrorists especially anti-Iran terrorist groups. The country claims of defending human rights and freedom of speech but it cannot stand anything pro-Islam remarks but when it comes to blasphemy against Islam, Swedish officials defend it as freedom of expression.

This country in recent weeks has been the scene of the violent clashes which have been ignited by blasphemy of anti-Islam groups. Swedish officials have emboldened anti-Islamist groups and radicals although they claim of equality.

Now they have arrested Mr. Nouri and putting him on trial based on charges of MKO group members who have been the worst criminal group in Iran as they have killed many innocent people through bomb blast under pretext of fighting with the establishment and they need to be brought to justice and it seems the place of plaintiff and defendant has been reverse.

Sweden or any European country should realize this fact that they cannot stop the Islamic Republic of Iran achieving progress and its ideals and such accusations and trials are good just for entertaining the opposition groups and media. If Swedish judiciary is right, it is better to bring to the justice those who were behind recent blasphemy in Sweden and burning the Holy Quran which led to the unrests and violence.

The Islamic Republic of Iran will defend the rights of its national with strong determination and will not let the so-called pro human rights countries to label Iranian nationals with false accusations.

Sweden is also recommended to stop continuing its belligerent approach towards the Islamic Republic and not to turn into a dreamy haven for terrorist groups for implementing their ill intentions, and release of Mr. Nouri will be a major and sincere step for a better relation with Tehran.  The way currently Sweden judiciary and even statesmen have behaved reminds us of this saying that they are more Catholic than Pope as they trust the words of the terrorists than reliable sources.

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IRAN NEWS ECONOMIC DESK

TEHRAN – Iran-Sweden Joint Chamber of Commerce held a meeting on Wednesday in presence of Sweden Ambassador to Tehran and some economic activists.

In the meeting, Head of Iran-Sweden Joint Chamber of Commerce Abdolreza Rezaei welcomed the participants and Sweden Ambassador as well as Sweden Counselor and pointed to the problems regarding issuing visa for the members of the chamber.

Mr. Rezaei noted the necessity for developing trade cooperation between Iran and Sweden, adding that easing business visa issuance can be a good boost to commercial activities between both states.

He underlined the consular section of the Sweden Embassy should create appropriate condition and better facilities for the members of the chamber in order to accelerate visa issuance and support of the economic activists.

Then Sweden Ambassador to Tehran Mattias Lentz, for his part, pointed to the development of economic cooperation between both states, adding that Sweden Embassy has always done its best to provide facilities to improve commercial level between Iran and Sweden and to develop trade but the current problem is because of the outbreak of Coronavirus which has closed down the visa section of the embassy since March.

He pointed to the ban for arrival of foreigners to the EU zone states, adding that except the residents of EU states and EU state passport-holders, no foreigner is allowed to enter EU zone and this restriction has several times been repeated and by the end of 2020 it has been extended.

Lentz added that when there is no possibility to travel to EU, there will be no visa, too. So, for this reason commercial sections of European Embassies are closed by the end of 2020 and consular section of Sweden Embassy is also closed, he added.

He expressed hope that as soon as the problems regarding the coronavirus are solved to ease traveling to EU, the embassy will do its best to issue visas but unfortunately it will impossible by 2021.

He expressed hope that as soon as the problems end, economic cooperation between both states would return to better condition.

Sweden was one of Iran’s top trading partners in Europe, which had reached a good level of trade relations after the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) was signed between Iran and world powers, however, with the re-imposition of U.S. sanctions, the restrictions led to a significant decline in the two sides’ trades.

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Rouhani on Saturday sent a message to Carl XVI Gustaf, the reigning king of Sweden, congratulating the Scandinavian country’s monarch and nation on the National Day of Sweden.

In his message, Rouhani pointed to the “delicate and critical conditions” caused by the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, expressing hope that cooperation and rapport among the Iranian and Swedish officials would contribute to the enhancement of world peace and stability and closer relations between Tehran and Stockholm at the bilateral and international levels.

Sweden celebrates its National Day on June 6 in honor of two historical events: Gustav Vasa being elected king (June 6, 1523) and the adoption of a new constitution (June 6, 1809).

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IRAN NEWS ECONOMIC DESK

TEHRAN – Head of Iran-Sweden Joint Chamber of Commerce Abdolreza Rezaie says banking relations with Sweden are almost cut and no Swedish bank opens accounts for Iranians.

Speaking to ILNA,  Rezaei said, “There is currently no blocking of Iranian property in Sweden but Swedish banks don’t let the Iranian to open a bank account.”

He said that before the start of the second round of U.S sanctions, main Swedish banks such as SEB Group, the Nordea Bank, a joint Danish-Swedish bank and Swedbank Group, had cooperated with Iran, but has stopped working as sanctions began.

Abdolreza Rezaie pointed to the Swedish–Iranian bilateral trade and said “In 2017, the total trade between Iran and Sweden stood at $ 307 million, of which $ 154 billion in imports and $ 153 billion in exports to Sweden.”

“But in 2019, the volume of our trade has dropped dramatically due to U.S. sanctions, as most companies have reduced their cooperation with Iran to a minimum.”

“For example, we imported the Volvo trucks for years without any problems, but now imports have stopped. Also, although heavy-duty vehicle parts were exempted from sanctions but we are in trouble because of financial transfers.”

Referring to the INSTEX mechanism for trade with Iran, the Head of Iran-Sweden Joint Chamber of Commerce added that Sweden is one of the six countries that recently joined the financial mechanism, but this mechanism is more of a symbolic gesture rather than an economic initiative.

He also said that exports of Volvo trucks to Iran have come to a halt, adding that Iran has no problem for imports of parts for heavy vehicles but because of banking problems, it cannot import parts.

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He added that as an international agreement backed by the UN Security Council, the JCPOA has seven parties and it is unacceptable that only one party remains committed to the deal.

Rouhani also reminded the Swedish premier of the European Union’s obligations under the JCPOA and called on EU members, including Sweden, to make the mechanism for trade with Iran known as INSTEX operational.

Lofven, for his part, pointed to his recent visit to Tehran, and said his country is willing to develop relations with the Islamic Republic in all areas, economy in particular.

The Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges (INSTEX) is a payment channel that France, Germany and Britain – the three European signatories to the JCPOA – have devised to continue trade with Tehran and bypass the US embargoes.

Spokesman for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Behrouz Kamalvandi recently announced details of the country’s “third step” in reducing commitments under the JCPOA.

Iran maintains that the new measures are not designed to harm the nuclear deal but to save the accord by creating a balance in the commitments.

Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany) on July 14, 2015, reached a conclusion over the text of the JCPOA.

The accord took effect in January 2016 and was supposed to terminate all nuclear-related sanctions against Iran all at once, but its implementation was hampered by the US policies and its eventual withdrawal from the deal.

On May 8, 2018, US President Donald Trump pulled his country out of the nuclear accord.

Following the US withdrawal, Iran and the remaining parties launched talks to save the deal.

However, the EU’s failure to ensure Iran’s economic interests forced Tehran to stop honoring certain commitments, including an unlimited rise in the stockpile of enriched uranium.

Kamalvandi recently said that the country’s enriched uranium stockpile has reached 360 to 370 kilograms.

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The Lund International Fantastic Film Festival is a popular film festival in Lund in southern Sweden that mainly shows fantasy, science fiction or horror films.

Founded in 1995, the festival aims to help stretch the limits of the imagination, and to reinforce the intrinsic value of imagination in films, according to the event’s website.

The 25th edition of Lund International Fantastic Film Festival will take place between Sept. 27th and October 5th, 2019.

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