Sweden on Friday called on Iran to immediately release Ahmadreza Djalali, a Swedish-Iranian academic detained and sentenced to death nine years ago after he released an appeal from prison warning he was at his breaking point.
"Ahmadreza Djalali is being held under very harsh conditions, and his poor health is deteriorating further. This is deeply concerning," Sweden’s foreign minister Maria Malmer Stenergard said in a statement on Friday.
"The government demands that Iran immediately release Ahmadreza Djalali on humanitarian grounds so that he can be reunited with his family," she added.
The statement came as Djalali marked nine years since his arrest in Iran and issued a direct plea to Sweden’s prime minister and the European Parliament in a message from Tehran's Evin prison.
"I am at my breaking point. 3,288 days of suffering and being under risk of execution, showed the inefficacy of words and condemnation," Djalali said.
"If I die here, either due to execution or illness, the officials who were careless and neutral about my situation over all these years and left me behind when they were able to return me home are also responsible in my death," he added.
Djelali was convicted of "corruption on earth" for allegedly spying for Israel by an Iranian revolutionary court in 2017 but said authorities used torture to coax his confession, which was subsequently repeatedly broadcast on state media.
He also criticized the prisoner swaps between Iran and Belgium, and between Iran and Sweden, saying, "In both events, I was used as a bargaining chip but I was left behind without trade and discriminately during the swap of Assadi and Nouri with Belgian and Swedish prisoners in Iran."
As part of a prisoner exchange agreement last year in June, Sweden repatriated a former Iranian official convicted of war crimes, Hamid Nouri, in exchange for the release of two Swedish citizens, Johan Floderus, an EU representative, and Saeed Azizi, who had been detained in Iran on charges of spying for Israel.
Speaking at Friday prayers in Tehran, interim Friday prayer leader Mohammad-Hassan Aboutorabi-Fard said that Iran’s nuclear policy is rooted in a religious and political doctrine that prioritizes peaceful development while resisting external pressure.
"The Islamic Republic’s strategy is based on transparency about the peaceful nature of its nuclear program, the development of nuclear technology, and the lifting of oppressive sanctions," he said.
His remarks come against the backdrop of renewed indirect negotiations between Tehran and Washington, facilitated by Oman, with the second round held in Rome and third slated for Muscat on Saturday.
According to Aboutorabi-Fard, the talks were initiated "at the repeated request of the highest-ranking US official and are proceeding with caution due to America’s repeated breaches of previous commitments, especially the unilateral withdrawal from the JCPOA in 2018."
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has characterized the Muscat-hosted dialogue as a test of American sincerity. "The talks in Oman are a test to gauge the seriousness of the US," Aboutorabi-Fard quoted the minister as saying. "Complete sanctions relief and legal guarantees can pave the way for real progress."
The Omani Foreign Ministry, which hosted the recent talks in Rome, said the goal is to reach a “fair and lasting nuclear agreement” that ensures Iran is free of nuclear weapons and also free from sanctions—while maintaining its right to peaceful nuclear development.
Tehran views the Omani statement as aligning closely with its own strategic roadmap. "This declaration reflects the correct direction of negotiations in line with Iran’s strategy," Aboutorabi-Fard added.
The Tehran cleric, like several other Friday prayer leaders representing the Supreme Leader, portrayed the current diplomacy as a product of strength.
“Without the slightest doubt, the negotiations began from a position of dignity and power,” he said. “Iran has the upper hand in defining the topics and principles of the negotiations.”
Aboutorabi-Fard added that effective diplomacy must be backed by national strength—particularly technological and military power. “Diplomacy without power is ineffective in securing national interests,” he said. “The accumulation of scientific capacity, especially in nuclear technology, is one of the pillars of Iran’s national strength.”
He added that the country’s deterrent military capabilities bolster the negotiating team. “Our defensive power and enhanced deterrent strength are reliable assets for the Muscat negotiations.”
While advocating for the removal of sanctions, Aboutorabi-Fard echoed Khamenei’s frequent warnings against relying too heavily on external negotiations to solve domestic problems.
“Sanctions relief can help create conditions for sustainable economic growth,” he said, “but without transforming our economic and administrative structures, and without cutting the dependency of the budget on oil, real economic progress will remain out of reach.”
He urged the parliament and government ministers to focus on structural reforms regardless of the outcome of talks with the United States.
Other Friday prayer leaders across Iran echoed similar sentiments, praising Iran’s scientific achievements while cautioning against overreliance on diplomacy.
The cleric in Ilam quoted Khamenei, saying: “The diplomacy apparatus should do its work, but don’t tie the country’s future to the negotiations.”
In Yezd, Mohammad-Reza Naseri warned: “Don’t trust the enemy’s slogans. Real progress comes from self-reliance and heeding the Leader’s advice.”
And in Shiraz and Shahrud, Friday prayer leaders marked the anniversary of the failed US military operation in Tabas in 1980 -- Operation Eagle Claw -- as a reminder of “divine protection” and resilience against foreign intervention.
Mashhad firebrand cleric Ahmad Alamolhoda questioned whether, "After witnessing so many miracles, is it right to still hinge our hopes on America as a problem solver?""Conditioning our lives on negotiations demonstrates a lack of faith in God's power."
