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Iran and Sweden have officially carried out a prisoner swap.

According to media outlets in both countries, Sweden released Hamid Noury, while Iran returned Johan Floderus and Saeed Azizi. Noury, a former Iranian official, had been convicted for his involvement in the mass execution of political prisoners in Iran in 1988. Meanwhile, Sweden welcomed back its citizens Johan Floderus, a European Union employee detained since 2022, and Saeed Azizi, a Swedish-Iranian dual national arrested in November 2023.

Noury, who was arrested in Stockholm in 2019 and later sentenced to life imprisonment for his role in the 1988 executions at Gohardasht prison, continued to deny the charges. An Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson labeled Noury a hostage, criticizing his imprisonment as a result of an “illegal Swedish court decision.”

Johan Floderus, a European Union employee, had been detained in Iran since 2022 on charges of espionage, while Saeed Azizi, a Swedish-Iranian dual national, was arrested in November 2023.

The swap was facilitated by Oman. In a statement, Oman’s foreign ministry said, “Omani efforts resulted in the two sides agreeing on a mutual release, as those released were transferred from Tehran and Stockholm.”