The Swedish government has accused the Imam Ali Islamic Centre in Stockholm of serving as a platform for Iranian intelligence operations targeting Sweden and the Iranian diaspora, Social Affairs Minister Jakob Forssmed announced on February 3, Swedish media reported.

Sweden's Security Service has determined that Iran uses the Shi'ite Muslim centre for espionage and activities that threaten security, leading authorities to halt all state funding to the institution.

Forssmed indicated that additional measures were being pursued but did not provide specifics.

"This is extremely serious," Jakob Forssmed said, Expressen reported, adding that Sweden had stopped all state monetary aid to the centre. He said, without elaborating, that "an additional process" was underway.

The mosque claims it maintains its independence from political parties and states on its website, denying receiving foreign funding and asserting strict oversight of its premises.

 "IAC maintains strict oversight to ensure that our premises are not used as a platform for any criminal activity," the centre stated.

Iran's state news agency IRNA reported that Tehran summoned Sweden's ambassador on February 1 to protest the detention of the Islamic Center's head in Stockholm. "The Swedish ambassador was summoned to the Foreign Ministry yesterday, where we clearly expressed our concerns," Foreign Ministry spokesman Ismail Baghaei noted, suggesting that "some decisions appear to be influenced by third parties who do not wish well for Iran-Sweden relations."

Mohsen Hakimollahi, a 63-year-old Iranian cleric and top Friday prayer mullah, was arrested by Swedish police in the growing distrust between the two.

Sources indicate that plainclothes officers apprehended Hakimollahi at his residence in the middle of the night approximately two weeks ago, according to one Iranian opposition website based abroad.

Since then, he has been in detention at a Swedish immigration facility. Documents from the Swedish immigration office confirm that a deportation order for the cleric, who is affiliated with the Iranian regime, was issued on January 30.

Imam Ali Islamic Centre in Sweden claims it is an independent, religious, and ideal association founded by a group of Shi’ite Iranian Muslims who emigrated to the country in 1997.

“The Centre aims, inter alia, to create a more friendly relationship and cooperation with various institutions, including government, to facilitate the integration of Muslims into Swedish society,” it stated on its website.

Hakimollahi was sent to Sweden by Tehran in 2011 to lead the Imam Ali Islamic Centre and had received permanent residency in Sweden in December 2017. However, Swedish authorities have now revoked his permit, paving the way for his deportation.

The case follows similar actions against Iranian-linked Islamic centres in Europe, including Germany's closure of the Hamburg Islamic Centre in August 2024 for alleged extremist activities. No announcement has been made regarding the Stockholm centre's operational status following its director's detention.