Iran International's correspondent in Stockholm
Court documents have revealed extensive alleged contacts between a former Swedish Migration Agency employee and Iranian intelligence, raising concerns that sensitive information about asylum seekers and critics of the Islamic Republic may have been compromised.
The documents stem from the case of Mohsen Hakim-Elahi, who was dismissed from the Swedish Migration Agency during the winter 2025 after Sweden's Security Service, Säpo, concluded he posed a security risk. Hakim-Elahi challenged his dismissal, but Solna District Court ruled on June 24 that the agency had lawful grounds to terminate his employment.
The court relied heavily on testimony from Per Lagerud, head of Säpo's legal department, describing his evidence as detailed, coherent and reliable.
According to the ruling, Säpo concluded that Hakim-Elahi maintained years of contact with an Iranian intelligence officer operating under diplomatic cover at Iran's embassy in Stockholm. The court said the officer's responsibilities included collecting information on opponents of the Islamic Republic, Iranians living in Sweden and other people of interest to Iranian authorities.
Years of documented contacts
The ruling said Säpo documented around 85 electronic contacts between Hakim-Elahi and the intelligence officer between 2016 and March 2017, in addition to telephone calls, face-to-face meetings and records showing when and where those meetings took place.
Court documents also referred to Hakim-Elahi's interviews with Säpo, saying about 1,200 contacts were recorded between him and another individual whom the security service identified as an Islamic Republic agent between May 2020 and October 2021.
Hakim-Elahi did not deny some of those contacts, according to the ruling.
The court said he told investigators he had met the intelligence officer several times, including at his home, at the Migration Agency and at Stockholm's Mall of Scandinavia. He said the meetings generally took place every two weeks.
The ruling also said Hakim-Elahi confirmed he and the intelligence officer travelled to Iran on the same flight in 2017, although he argued that did not mean they were travelling together.
Concerns over agency information
The court found that information from the Migration Agency and its computer systems had been transferred to a network linked to the Islamic Republic. The nature of that information was not disclosed in the published judgment because of confidentiality restrictions.
Hakim-Elahi, according to the ruling, also acknowledged giving the intelligence officer the name of a Migration Agency employee scheduled to work at Sweden's embassy in Tehran.
Säpo's testimony said Hakim-Elahi described that employee as "a good, devout Muslim."
The ruling further said Hakim-Elahi told investigators that if he obtained information about people connected to Kurdish opposition groups opposed to the Islamic Republic, he would pass it to the Iranian intelligence officer.
The Migration Agency argued that Hakim-Elahi's conduct breached security obligations attached to his position and undermined confidence in his ability to handle sensitive information.
Court rejects defense
Hakim-Elahi denied all accusations during the proceedings. He told the court he opposed the Islamic Republic, did not know individuals connected to Iran's embassy had intelligence roles and characterized his relationships with them as personal and social.
Hakim-Elahi also argued there may have been a case of mistaken identity because his name resembles that of the former imam of Stockholm's Imam Ali Islamic Center, who was expelled from Sweden on national security grounds.
The court rejected that argument, saying nothing indicated that either Säpo or the Migration Agency had confused the two men.
It concluded the Migration Agency had established sufficient grounds for dismissal, citing Hakim-Elahi's contacts with an Iranian intelligence officer, his contacts with another person identified by Säpo as an Islamic Republic agent, the transfer of agency information and multiple security breaches.
Wider concerns over Iranian intelligence activity
Two days after the ruling was published, Hakim-Elahi rejected Säpo's allegations in a video posted on social media, describing them as "nonsense." He did not address the alleged contacts with the Iranian intelligence officer, one of the central findings in the court's judgment.
The case adds to a series of investigations into suspected Iranian intelligence activity in Sweden.
In October 2025, Swedish media reported the arrest of two Iranian-born brothers on suspicion of conducting industrial espionage for Tehran. Earlier, in the autumn of 2025, Säpo said Iranian intelligence and security agencies had used Stockholm's Imam Ali Islamic Center as a platform for intelligence activities in Sweden.
