In connection with a tour of the Nordic countries, Iran's Foreign Minister Javad Zarif will visit Stockholm for two days.

Foreign Minister Margot Wallström (S) will host "discussions on bilateral and regional issues, including Yemen and the importance of preserving the nuclear agreement (JCPOA)", the government said.

Zarif will also visit the Riksdag and Stockholm's international peace research institute Sipri, the government said in a press release.

Oil tanks in fittings

On July 19, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard seized the Swedish-owned British-flagged oil tanker Stena Impero.

On Thursday, it was also reported that US authorities have filed an application to seize the Iranian vessel Grace which Britain seized in Gibraltar in June.

The government has not yet decided whether Sweden should participate in an international effort to strengthen security around the Hormuz Strait. The issue is being analyzed at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, according to Foreign Trade Minister Ann Linde (S) on August 1.

Aerial photos show how two motor boats belonging to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard are circulating around the seized tanker Stena Impero. Photo: Morteza Akhoondi / Tasnim News Agency / AP / TT

US sanctions

The US has previously imposed sanctions on Foreign Minister Javad Zarif. The decision came at a time when relations between the countries are very strained.

In May 2018, President Donald Trump announced that the United States will withdraw from the JCPOA nuclear agreement with Iran. Since then, tensions have risen sharply between countries.

"The agreement should never have been made," Trump said when the message was given.

Drönarkrig

In June 2019, Iran reportedly shot down an American drone with a robot. Iran claimed that the drone was in Iranian airspace, while the US stated that it was in international airspace.

Trump was considering retaliation, but blew off the attack on Iran at the last minute, according to previous information from the US news agency AP.

In mid-July 2019, US President Donald Trump announced that the US Navy has shot down an Iranian drone in the Strait of Hormuz by electronically sending it out.

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif argued that it should have happened.

One of the US Navy Corps UH-1Y Venom helicopters raises from the USS Boxer warship when it is in the Strait of Hormuz on July 18, 2019 when the Iranian drone is shot down. Photo: United States Navy Corps / Dalton Swanbeck