Nima Gholam Ali Pour has for many years been active in raising questions about Iran and the threat posed by the Islamic Republic. Now, as a Member of Parliament for the Sweden Democrats (SD), he continues to be one of the few voices in Swedish politics who openly challenges the regime in Tehran and calls for support to the democratic opposition in exile.
In his recent interpellation to Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard (M), Nima described the Islamic regime as corrupt, weak, and illegitimate—pointing to its failure during the recent 12-day war with Israel, its economic collapse, and its repression at home. He argued that Sweden should end dialogue with the mullahs and instead open dialogue with democratic forces who share values of freedom and human rights. He also referred to Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi is working for opposition unity and has opened dialogue with Israel.
Nima underlined that the regime’s violence is not limited to Iran. He noted that some Iranians in Sweden today live under police protection because of threats and assassination attempts linked to the Islamic Republic. To illustrate this growing threat, he also cited my recently published academic paper in Small Wars & Insurgencies (The Islamic Republic of Iran’s use of criminal intermediaries for extraterritorial assassinations and covert violence: a gray zone strategy of outsourced repression), which documents how Tehran relies on criminal groups abroad to carry out covert operations.
Foreign Minister Stenergard responded by stressing that Sweden, together with the EU, maintains strong pressure on Iran through sanctions and international mechanisms, while also keeping a critical dialogue open on nuclear issues. She underlined that Sweden engages with Iranian civil society and exiled opposition, but also argued that dialogue remains necessary to protect Swedish citizens.
This exchange shows both the urgency of the threat and the growing recognition in Swedish politics of the need to seriously engage with Iran’s democratic opposition.