An internal investigation by a major Swedish think tank found that an Iranian scholar used his university affiliation to garner millions in public funds for his pro-Tehran association, a Stockholm-based magazine reported.
Roozbeh Parsi, the former head of the Middle East and North Africa Program at the Swedish Institute of International Affairs (UI), stepped down in May following the conclusion of a UI internal investigation into his alleged links to an Iranian influence network.
Months after his resignation, the Swedish magazine Fokus has now published new details from UI’s internal investigation showing that Parsi used Lund University’s name and received millions of kronor in public funding through his private association, the European Iran Research Group (EIRG).
According to the Fokus report, Parsi used Lund University to give his association institutional legitimacy, enabling it to secure millions in Swedish taxpayer money.
The UI internal investigation found no evidence that Parsi or EIRG were funded directly by Tehran, but the group had received millions of kronor in Swedish public funds.
However, Fokus reports that money was also collected under the banner of Lund University. EIRG is, and remains, registered at Lund University’s address in the corporate registry.
Jakob Hallgren, head of the Swedish Institute of International Affairs, told Swedish public broadcaster SVT that new information about Parsi’s long-running association EIRG had shown it to be incompatible with his position as program director, leading to his departure from UI.
Documents obtained by Fokus showed that EIRG had an internal project account in Lund University’s bookkeeping, covering travel and conference expenses. One entry from December 2017 recorded a transfer of 41,433 kronor in faculty funds to the EIRG project, the Fokus report said.
When contacted, Gisela Lindberg, head of communications for the Faculties of Humanities and Theology, said the address was “an outdated listing that remained from earlier,” adding that it would be removed. The university, however, did not comment on the financial transfers despite documentation confirming them.
Fokus reported that by presenting itself as part of Lund University, EIRG secured additional grants from Swedish institutions and foundations. The Swedish Institute, for example, signed a contract with EIRG in December 2016 to conduct a study on Iranian public-sector capacity, with Parsi himself listed as the contact person. SI confirmed that it knew EIRG’s registered address was the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Lund University.
The Swedish foreign ministry also awarded EIRG about 365,000 kronor in 2015 for a Tehran conference co-hosted with the Institute for Political and International Studies (IPIS), a think tank directly controlled by Iran’s foreign ministry. The grant application listed Lund University as the sender. Parts of the conference were later canceled for political reasons, and EIRG returned more than 200,000 kronor.
According to Sweden's TV4, Parsi attended meetings with senior Iranian diplomats and appeared on membership lists for the Iran Experts Initiative (IEI), a network formed by Iran's foreign ministry to promote the Islamic Republic's foreign policy and nuclear strategy through scholars based abroad. The IEI was uncovered in a 2023 joint investigation by Iran International and Semafor.
Despite his resignation from UI, Parsi remains employed as a researcher at Lund University and continues to appear in Swedish media as a Middle East expert. Fokus says he did not respond to its request for comment.
Sweden’s then–foreign minister, Maria Malmer Stenergard, told reporters in February 2025 that the allegations against Parsi were “very serious,” adding that Iran was conducting intelligence activities against Sweden, and Stockholm took that "extremely seriously.”
