Iran responded to Koran burnings in Sweden last year with a massive hack of a messaging service, Swedish authorities said on Tuesday.
Iranian hackers took over a major SMS service of a Swedish company and sent around 15,000 messages in Swedish calling for them to take “revenge” for the burning of Islam’s holy book, the Swedish Prosecution Authority said.
Senior prosecutor Mats Ljungqvist said the operation was carried out by Iran’s paramilitary Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Several of the hackers had been identified by the Swedish Security Service, he said.
The aim of the operation was to sway public opinion and create discord within Swedish society, Ljungqvist said.
Given that the perpetrators acted on behalf of a foreign power, he said he does not expect any criminal prosecutions.
Iran did not immediately respond to the allegations.
In the summer of 2023, several individuals in Sweden set fire to the Koran. The spate of burnings triggered violent protests in a number of countries and hurt the country’s image abroad.
The backlash came as Stockholm was negotiating its entry into the NATO defence alliance. The burnings contributed to NATO member Turkey holding up Sweden’s approval for months.
