Swedish Security Service Chief Charlotte von Essen speaks next to Fredrik Hallstroem, chief of operations, during a press conference where the Swedish Security Service (SAPO) presents the situational picture of the country’s security, in Stockholm, Sweden, March 18, 2026. Photo: TT News Agency/Claudio Bresciani via REUTERS

Sweden‘s Security Service (SAPO) warned on Wednesday of increased threats to the Nordic nation from the war in Iran, including risks to Jewish targets, as it released its annual national security assessment.

“History has shown that a desperate and pressured regime can be a dangerous regime,” SAPO operative chief Fredrik Hallstrom told a press conference, referring to the US-Israeli war on Iran.

Iran has long been considered a serious threat, and Swedish authorities have noted how criminal networks – already at the center of a decade-long surge in gang-related violence – have been exploited by state actors to carry out attacks.

“The US-Israeli military operation against Iran, and the countermeasures carried out by Iran, have increased the threat against American, Israeli, and Jewish targets in Sweden,” Security Service Chief Charlotte von Essen said in the report.

In recent years, the agency has also highlighted threats from China and, above all, Russia, which it describes as increasingly willing to take risks in support of its war in Ukraine — including through hybrid operations across Europe.

“Overall, we expect that the threat levels against Sweden will continue to deteriorate in the coming years,” von Essen said, adding that Russia was regarded as a primary driver.

While it is difficult to determine what can be linked to a particular actor, Sweden assesses that Russia is behind several sabotage incidents in Europe targeting critical infrastructure, the security service said. Moscow has denied any involvement.

The agency said it has reviewed hundreds of cases of suspected sabotage in Sweden, including of underwater cables, electricity substations and water-treatment facilities.

“It has so far not been possible to link any physical sabotage to a foreign power,” it said.

The comments came as Iran executed a Swedish citizen on Wednesday, according to Sweden‘s foreign minister, who added that she had summoned the Iranian ambassador in Stockholm to condemn the decision.

The person, who was not named, was arrested in Iran in June of last year and Sweden has repeatedly raised the case with Iranian officials, Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard said.

“The death penalty is an inhumane, cruel, and irreversible punishment. Sweden, together with the rest of the EU, condemns its application in all circumstances,” Stenergard said.

The legal proceedings leading up to the execution did not meet the standards of due process, she added.

The European Union’s foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas condemned the execution in a statement on Wednesday evening.

“The appalling human rights situation in Iran and the alarming increase in executions are intolerable and show the regime’s true colors,” she said, sending condolences to the family of the citizen.

The Swedish foreign ministry and the Iranian embassy in Stockholm did not immediately respond to a request for comment when contacted by Reuters via phone and email.

Syrian Arab Republic’s Ambassador to the United Nations Ibrahim Olabi addresses the Security Council during the meeting on the situation in the Middle East, at UN headquarters in New York City, US, Feb. 18, 2026. Photo: REUTERS/Jeenah Moon

Syria on Wednesday launched a plan supported by Washington to rid the Middle Eastern country of legacy chemical weapons that were used against its people by forces under ousted leader Bashar al-Assad.

For decades, Assad ran a large-scale program for chemical weapons, the use of which killed and injured thousands during Syria‘s long-running civil war.

Despite Damascus’ signing onto the Chemical Weapons Convention in 2013 and declaring a 1,300-ton stockpile, prohibited use continued and the size of the program remains unclear.

An international taskforce backed by the United States, Germany, Britain, Canada, and France, among others, will track down all remaining elements of the program and destroy them under the supervision of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, Syria‘s ambassador to the United Nations, Ibrahim Olabi, said in an interview.

As many as 100 sites in Syria need to be inspected to determine what toxic munitions remain and how they should be destroyed, OPCW experts have said.

It will require a time-consuming and costly operation to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction in a region fraught with conflict and political turmoil. The expanding US-Israeli war on Iran and broader regional security concerns will make the timing of the mission uncertain, but all the more necessary to prevent future use, officials said.

GOVERNMENT VOWS FULL ACCESS

Assad was overthrown in December 2024, and the new government under Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa has vowed to turn a page and eradicate banned chemical weapons and give inspectors full access.

The move shows that Syria has shifted from a country that was once concealing chemical weapons use to one that is “leading the resolve” to do away with them, Olabi said.

Several international investigations concluded that the nerve agent sarin, as well as chlorine and sulfur mustard gas, was used by the Assad regime, but never revealed the full extent of the clandestine program.

“We don’t know what’s remaining. It was a secret program,” Olabi said. “The job is on Syria to basically look for these things and then declare them.”

A diplomatic source, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive matter, said the 100 sites could be anything from military bases to laboratories or offices.

“It will probably take many months if not years to get it done, and of course the current situation in the Middle East doesn’t help the process to move forward to the actual destruction of any remnants of Assad‘s chemical weapons program,” the source said.

Smoke rises following an explosion, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Tehran, Iran, March 7, 2026. Picture taken with a mobile phone. Photo: Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS

Israel has intensified a sweeping campaign targeting Iran’s leadership and internal security machinery, in what officials say is a bid to destabilize the regime and lay the groundwork for its potential collapse.

On Tuesday night, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) killed Iranian Intelligence Minister Ismail Khatib in Tehran during a precision airstrike carried out with a narrow window of real-time intelligence.

According to Israeli officials, the strike followed rapidly obtained intelligence pinpointing Khatib’s hideout, allowing the Air Force to divert jets mid-mission and eliminate the target within minutes.

Emerging reports indicate that Iranian civilians are increasingly supplying Israel with real-time intelligence — including the locations of checkpoints and security forces — providing critical insight that enables faster, more precise Israeli strikes.

Shortly after the attack, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian confirmed Khatib’s death, condemning it as a “cowardly assassination” and warning that those responsible would be held accountable.

Appointed in 2021, Khatib led Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence, a central pillar of the regime’s repression apparatus, overseeing espionage, covert operations, and intelligence activities targeting both domestic dissent and foreign adversaries, including Israeli and US targets.

He also played a central role during the regime’s brutal crackdown on internal dissent, including the latest nationwide anti-government protests, which security forces violently crushed, with thousands of demonstrators tortured and killed.

Khatib’s assassination is the latest in a wave of targeted killings of senior Iranian officials in recent days, further weakening the regime’s leadership and operational networks.

“The intensity of the attacks in Iran is increasing. We are in the midst of a decisive victory,” Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a statement after announcing Khatib’s death.

“Israel’s policy is clear and unequivocal: No one in Iran has immunity and everyone is in the crosshairs,” he continued.

Katz also said Israeli forces now have the “green light” to carry out targeted assassinations, signaling a new phase in their operations.

“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and I have authorized the IDF to thwart any senior Iranian official who is surrounded, intelligence and operational, without the need for additional authorization. We will continue to thwart and hunt them all,” the Israeli official said.

“Significant surprises are expected in all arenas that will escalate the war we are waging against Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon,” he continued, referring to Iran’s chief terrorist proxy.

Earlier this week, the Air Force also killed Ali Larijani, secretary of Iran’s National Security Council, in what was the most significant assassination since the killing of former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at the start of the campaign. Larijani was widely believed to be running the country following Khamenei’s death.

Gholam Reza Soleimani, commander of the Basij forces, was also killed during the strike. He led the paramilitary units used by the regime to violently suppress protests and crush political opposition across the country.

“We are undermining this regime in the hope of giving the Iranian people a chance to remove it,” Netanyahu said in a statement after announcing the operation’s successful outcome. 

“It won’t happen all at once; it won’t happen easily. But if we persist in this — we will give them a chance to take their fate into their own hands,” the Israeli leader continued.

With the conflict now stretching over more than two weeks, Israel is now taking a strategic turn, with the Air Force on Wednesday hitting a gas processing facility in the country’s southern region.

Located in the Persian Gulf, the South Pars gas field targeted in the attack is the world’s largest natural gas reservoir, shared between Iran and Qatar, and supplies roughly 70 percent of the country’s total natural gas output.

According to Michael Doran, an American analyst specializing in Middle Eastern politics, this latest operation reflects a widening of the campaign beyond military objectives to pressure other key parts of the regime.

“Strategically, this marks a shift toward targeting economic lifelines, not just military assets, with the goal of weakening regime stability,” Doran wrote in a post on X.

Prime Minister Netanyahu and Defense Minister Katz promised surprises today. They did not lie.

U.S.–Israeli strikes hit onshore processing facilities in the Asaluyeh zone—the core hub of the South Pars gas field, which produces ~70% of Iran’s natural gas. Iranian state media… pic.twitter.com/kKJ8qjlifu

— Mike (@Doranimated) March 18, 2026

Following the strike, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) warned they could retaliate by targeting energy infrastructure across the Gulf, including facilities in Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, raising the threat of wider disruptions to the global energy market.

Meanwhile, Netanyahu delivered another speech addressing the Iranian people ahead of Nowruz, the Persian New Year marking the start of spring, urging them to celebrate and seize the moment to challenge the regime.

“Israeli aircraft are striking terrorist operatives in the field — on the roads and in the squares. Go out and celebrate, and have a happy Nowruz holiday — we are watching from above,” the Israeli leader said in a video statement.

“Israeli aircraft are striking terrorist operatives in the field—on the roads and in the squares. Go out and celebrate the Nowruz —we are watching from above” – Joint statement by Israeli PM, Israel’s Minister of Defense, Chief of Staff, the head of the Mossad pic.twitter.com/yP0HUTCF1Q

— Amichai Stein (@AmichaiStein1) March 17, 2026

According to a new Washington Post report, Israel’s campaign is increasingly focused on dismantling Iran’s internal repression systems, aiming to create a leadership vacuum and logistical breakdown that could hinder the regime’s ability to respond if mass protests erupt again.

Israeli forces have carried out targeted strikes on senior Basij and IRGC officers, destroyed infrastructure used to suppress protests, and launched cyber operations to disrupt internal security communications and coordination, crippling the regime’s ability to redeploy its forces effectively.

So far, Israel says it has launched thousands of strikes on a wide range of targets linked to the IRGC, Basij, and other internal security forces, with thousands of personnel reportedly killed or wounded.

Late Tuesday night into Wednesday morning alone, around 300 Basij commanders and field officials were killed in a wave of strikes on key command and operational centers, according to Iran International.

So far, Israel says it has dropped some 10,000 munitions on targets linked to the IRGC, Basij, and other internal security forces, delivering a devastating blow to the regime’s security apparatus.

Even with Israel’s military strikes inflicting heavy damage, Iranian security forces remain in control of the streets and continue threatening protesters with gunfire, though Israeli officials believe mounting economic strain, sustained military pressure, and rising public anger are pushing the regime closer to potential collapse, even if it’s not imminent.

“The Iranians are starting to understand in recent days what happened to them,” the IDF’s Intelligence Directorate chief, Maj. Gen. Shlomi Binder, said in a recent closed-door security discussion, according to Israel’s Channel 12. “They are now discovering how bare the command line is and what damage has been done to them. What they shoot is what they manage to shoot. They simply can’t do any more than that.”

Binder reportedly noted that the while the Iranian people are currently “afraid to come out because of the presence of our planes and the Americans,” Israel is progressively destroying Iran’s ability to launch missiles and mount offensive operations.

“They are in distress,” he said.