Prosecutors said on November 6 that the 46-year-old Swedish-Iraqi national, who was not identified, was charged with collecting information about members of Iran’s Arab ethnic minority "under the cover of representing an Arabic online newspaper."

The suspect was active between April 2015 and February 2019, they said, adding that the man communicated with Iranian intelligence agents online or at personal meetings, including in Tehran.

The man, who denies the charges, was arrested in February and a Swedish court remanded him in detention the next month.

His trial, scheduled to start later this month, is to be held behind closed doors.

Iranian officials have not commented on the case.

Iran has been accused of discriminating and persecuting its Arab ethnic minority in the oil-rich Khuzestan Province.

Based on reporting by AP, dpa, and Reuters