VIOLENT PROTEST AT IRANIAN EMBASSY IN STOCKHOLM

C O N F I D E N T I A L STOCKHOLM 000066 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/12/2020 TAGS: PTER PREL IR SW SUBJECT: VIOLENT PROTEST AT IRANIAN EMBASSY IN STOCKHOLM Classified By: POL Counselor Marc Koehler for reasons 1.4 (b,d) ¶1. (U) About 300 Iranian-Swedes demonstrated at the Iranian Embassy in Stockholm on February 11, the 31st anniversary of the Islamic Revolution. The event became violent when 30 masked protesters tried to break through police lines, according to media reports. Two protesters were arrested for knife possession and violent resistance. Several protesters and one police officer were injured. Smaller protests were staged in downtown Stockholm throughout the day, and an estimated 1,000 people gathered in the city of Gothenburg, although little violence was reported at those gatherings. ¶2. (U) Nima Hatefi of the Iranian Association told reporters for Aftonbladet, a Stockholm tabloid, that many of Thursday's protesters had family members who had been killed by Iran's Islamic regime. (Note: Sweden is home to an Iranian community of about 80,000, of which an estimated 57,000 were born in Iran. The majority came to Sweden around the time of the 1979 Islamic Revolution. End Note.) ¶3. (U) This is the second time that violence has erupted at the Iranian Embassy since the June 2009 elections in Iran. In the first incident on June 26, about 100 protesters entered the Embassy, injuring one employee. Iran's official news agency IRNA called it a "terrorist attack," and Iran summoned Swedish Ambassador Magnus Werndstedt to protest the incident, according to the Tehran Times. The same article claimed that Sweden's "Deputy Foreign Minister" subsequently called Iran's Ambassador in Stockholm to say "no such incident" would happen again at the Embassy. ¶4. (C) Comment: While Sweden and Iran traditionally maintain friendly diplomatic relations, these protests indicate the Iranian-Swedish community's increasing intolerance with the political situation back home. Continuing agitation by the Iranian diaspora in Sweden could increase pressure on the Swedish government to do more to bring Iran in-line with expectations of the international community. BARZUN