On Monday, Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanani denied a U.S. accusation that Iran attacked a chemical tanker near India, stating that "these repeated accusations are unfounded and rejected." He said at a press conference, "The United States should instead face accusations due to its involvement in Israel's war in Gaza."
On Saturday, the U.S. Department of Defense (Pentagon) stated that "a drone launched from Iran struck a chemical tanker in the Indian Ocean." Official media reported on Sunday that the Iranian navy received cruise missiles with a range of up to one thousand kilometers, in addition to reconnaissance helicopters.
Separately, Kanani mentioned that Iran would "continue its efforts to secure the release of a former Iranian official sentenced to life imprisonment in Sweden for his involvement in the mass execution of political prisoners in Iran." He stated, "This unjust and shameful verdict does not end Iran's diplomatic efforts to bring this Iranian citizen back to his country and release him, and we will use all available legal means," without specifying anything in particular.
Kanani confirmed that "we strongly object to the sentence and to what happened during this citizen's long detention... and to the lack of respect for his basic rights in Swedish prisons." He added, "We hope that Sweden will take serious actions to compensate for its mistakes." A Swedish appellate court upheld on Tuesday the conviction of former official Hamid Nouri and the life sentence for murder and serious violations of international law.
