TEHRAN – Iran’s acting President has lauded the late Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian’s political endeavors, during a meeting with Hamid Nouri, the Iranian national recently released from Swedish prison.

Mohammad Mokhber paid a visit to Nouri’s home in Tehran on Monday on Eid al-Adha, two days after he returned to Iran.

Mokhber congratulated Nouri on his release and highlighted the significant efforts made by the late President Raisi and Foreign Minister Amir Abdollahian to secure his freedom. 

He praised Iran's diplomatic and security apparatuses for using dignified and powerful diplomacy to overcome the adversarial actions of the regime's opponents, including the Mujahedin-e-Khalq Organization (MKO).

Mokhber discussed the extensive efforts by Iran's enemies and opposition groups to convict Nouri on unfounded charges. 

During the visit, Nouri expressed his gratitude for the efforts of the thirteenth administration, particularly the late Foreign Minister, in facilitating his release. 

Additionally, he recounted that one of the most bitter moments during his imprisonment was learning about the martyrdom of President Raisi and Foreign Minister Amir Abdollahian.

On Saturday, Kazem Gharibabadi, head of the Iranian Judiciary’s High Council for Human Rights, announced the release of Hamid Nouri, a former Iranian judiciary official who had been held in Sweden since 2019.

Nouri was arrested upon arrival at Stockholm Airport in November 2019 and had been imprisoned since then, spending over three and a half years in solitary confinement. His arrest stemmed from allegations by the Mujahedin-e-Khalq Organization (MKO), a group with a history of terrorist activities against Iranian officials and civilians.

In 2022, a Swedish court sentenced Nouri to life imprisonment on charges of “war crimes and crimes against humanity,” which Iran denounced as illegitimate. These charges were primarily based on testimonies from MKO members living in exile. The conviction was upheld by Sweden’s Appeal Court in December 2023.

Iranian officials consistently maintained that Nouri’s detention and trial were politically motivated, influenced by anti-Iran groups and individuals in the West. Nouri denied the charges, claiming they were fabricated. His family also reported that he faced harassment from the MKO during court proceedings and suffered health issues, including severe vision problems and inadequate medical care. They also alleged physical assaults by Swedish authorities.

Nouri's Swedish attorney, Thomas Bodstrom, highlighted the harsh conditions of his client's detention, noting that Nouri endured the longest solitary confinement in Swedish history, making him “the most isolated prisoner” the country has seen. 

Bodstrom also argued that by Nouri’s trial, Sweden deprived itself of hundreds of thousands, or even millions, of Iranian visitors who have worked in the Iranian government and do not want to risk life imprisonment by visiting Sweden.

Nouri’s release was part of a prisoner swap involving a European Union diplomat and another Swedish-Iranian citizen. The swap was mediated by Oman, whose foreign ministry stated that the negotiations resulted in the mutual release of prisoners, with those freed being transferred from Tehran and Stockholm.

“Omani efforts resulted in the two sides agreeing on a mutual release, as those released were transferred from Tehran and Stockholm,” the statement by the Omani foreign ministry said.

On Saturday, Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson confirmed that Swedish national Johan Floderus and Iranian-Swedish Saeed Azizi were released by Tehran and were en route back to Sweden.

Separately, Nasser Kanaani, spokesman for the Iranian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, noted that Nouri’s release demonstrated Iran's effective diplomacy in protecting national interests and the rights of its citizens abroad.

The spokesman stressed that after enduring 1,680 days of unjust captivity, which violated fundamental human rights, Hamid Nouri has finally returned to his homeland and reunited with his patient family and loved ones.

Kanaani expressed gratitude to Oman for its mediation and reaffirmed Iran’s commitment to securing the release of other Iranian citizens detained overseas.