Iran Blamed for Mass Text Messages in Sweden Over Quran Burnings

Sweden accuses Iran of orchestrating a mass data breach to send 15,000 text messages in Swedish, urging revenge over Quran burnings. The Swedish security agency suggests Iran’s Revolutionary Guard was behind the breach. The texts were linked to a group named Anzu team, with no comment from Iran.

Sweden has claimed that Iran was responsible for sending thousands of text messages calling for revenge over the public burnings of the Quran in 2023. Authorities in Stockholm allege that Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard carried out a data breach, sending some 15,000 messages in Swedish.

According to Senior Prosecutor Mats Ljungqvist, a preliminary investigation by Sweden's SAPO domestic security agency has established that the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) was behind the breach, targeting a Swedish company running a major SMS service. The company remains unnamed.

The messages, traced to a group calling itself the Anzu team, were reported in August 2023 by Swedish media. The burnings, conducted under free speech rights protected by the Swedish constitution, had police approval. Iran has not yet responded to these accusations.

(With inputs from agencies.)