STOCKHOLM: Iran has executed a Swedish citizen, Sweden’s foreign minister said on Wednesday, as Iranian authorities announced the first execution of a person convicted of espionage since the start of the war against Israel and the United States.Maria Malmer Stengaard told AFP she learned late Tuesday that the sentence was likely to be carried out.“Of course, we immediately contacted Tehran and I tried to arrange a meeting with my counterpart and asked him to immediately suspend the executions, but unfortunately, he was not available,” he told AFP.He did not identify the civilian who was hanged.Earlier, Iran’s judiciary news agency Mizan Online said a man named Kouroush Kivani was executed for spying for Israel, and he was arrested during Iran’s 12-day war with Israel in June last year.It listed details of alleged meetings with agents of Israel’s Mossad spy agency and said he had received training “in six European countries and in Tel Aviv”.It was the first public announcement of such an execution since Israel and the United States launched attacks on Iran on February 28, killing its Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and sparking a war that has spread across the Middle East.The man acquired Swedish citizenship in 2019. When asked about the reasons for his visit to Iran, Stengaard declined to comment. Since his arrest, “We have done everything in our power to try to change this situation. We are in contact at various levels in both Stockholm and Tehran,” he said.– Access Denied –Sweden had made several requests for consular access. “But Iran does not consider this person a Swedish citizen and therefore did not grant him access,” Stenergaard said.“Obviously, this complicates our ability to get information,” he said.In a separate statement, he said he received the news that the executions had been carried out with “disappointment”.“It is clear to us that the legal process that led to the execution of the Swedish citizen was not conducted in accordance with the rule of law,” he said in that statement.According to the NGO Iran Human Rights (IHR), two more people were executed in 2026 after being convicted of espionage: Ali Ardestani on 7 January and Hamidreza Sabet Ismailpour on 28 January. NGOs documented at least 13 similar executions in 2025. A large number of people were arrested on charges of spying for Israel during last year’s 12-day war. Major questions remain regarding the fate of prisoners currently held in Iran.“Recent statements by the head of the judiciary raise concerns about the possible announcement and rapid implementation of the death penalty for espionage,” the IHR warned. Iran has arrested hundreds of people in recent days suspected of collaborating with Israel and the United States, according to local media reports. On Sunday, police chief Ahmad-Reza Radan spoke of the arrest of 500 people on suspicion of spying and “passing information to the enemy and anti-Iranian media.” Another Swedish-Iranian, Ahmadreza Jalali, has been imprisoned in Iran for almost 10 years. He was convicted of collaborating with the Mossad in 2017.