Sweden has accused Iran of sending thousands of text messages calling for revenge attacks over the burning of the Quran.
In a statement released on Tuesday, the Swedish Prosecution Authority said that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) hacked into a local SMS operator last year and sent out about 15,000 text messages calling for retaliation after Islam’s holy book was burned during protests.
“[A] cyber group acted on behalf of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard to carry out an influence campaign,” the Swedish Security Service SAPO said in a statement.
“The purpose was, among other things, to paint the image of Sweden as an Islamophobic country and create division in society,” it said.
Swedish broadcaster SVT published a photo of a text message, saying that “those who desecrated the Quran must have their work covered in ashes” and calling Swedes “demons”.
Iranian authorities had made no comment on the accusations at the time of writing.
The text messages were sent out by a group calling itself the Anzu team in August 2023, following a series of protests that featured attacks on the Quran.
The protests, approved by police, were held under the freedom of speech act, which is protected under the Swedish constitution.
As is standard in Western countries, Sweden has no blasphemy laws and there is no law specifically banning the burning or desecration of the Quran or other religious texts.
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