Cádiz, 5 September 2023 (dpa/MIA) - EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell confirmed on Tuesday that Johan Floderus, a Swedish citizen working for the European Union, has been held by Tehran for over 500 days.

To secure his release, the European Union's diplomatic services "have put the issue on the table relentlessly" in all meetings with Iranian counterparts, Borrell said.

Borrell said at an informal meeting of EU development ministers in Cadiz, Spain, that all efforts to secure his release were being coordinated with Stockholm and Floderus's family.

The New York Times first reported on Floderus's imprisonment on Monday, describing his detention as hostage diplomacy - an Iranian tactic to secure leverage over the West in negotiations.

The US newspaper said Floderus was seized at the airport in Tehran in April 2022 after visiting the country with friends.

Iran has repeatedly targeted foreigners, imprisoning them on charges of espionage or other violations of national security. Human rights activists criticize the trials, which are often held behind closed doors, as unfair.

In August, five United States citizens detained in Iran were placed under house arrest with their eventual return to the US linked to the outcome of a negotiation to release Iranian assets worth €5.6 billion ($6 billion), frozen due to international sanctions.

Earlier this year Iran released two Austrians, a Belgian and a Dane.

The release was connected to the transfer of an Iranian diplomat from Belgium to Tehran after he had been convicted on terror charges.

The mediator at the time was the Gulf state of Oman, which has already mediated between Iran and the West on several occasions.

Photo: MIA Archive