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A Swedish court has sentenced a teenager to nearly four years in juvenile detention after he armed himself with a knife and went to the home of an Iranian academic.
The youth, along with two accomplices, was convicted in a plot to assassinate Arvin Khoshnood, a prominent researcher who firmly believes the Iranian government orchestrated the assassination attempt but confirmed to local news outlets that "These guys most likely had no information that this was a political assassination attempt."
According to local news, Sweden Herald, the assailant, who was 16 years old when the crime was committed on Sept. 2, 2025, is also convicted of domestic violence.
The youngster was recruited through messaging apps by the other defendants and promised a payment to kill Khoshnood. He showed up at Khoshnood's house in the city of Malmo in September last year and spoke to the researcher's wife.
The researcher stayed inside and called the police. He has since been living in hiding at another address, his lawyer told AFP during the trial.
"The court considers it established that A.N. armed himself with a knife and went to the victim's home with the intention of killing him," the Uddevalla court wrote in its ruling.
The court found there was not enough evidence for a charge of attempted murder and reclassified the offence as preparatory acts to commit murder. The main defendant was handed three years and nine months in a juvenile detention centre.
Khoshnood is a frequent commentator on Iran in the Swedish media. On social platforms, he openly backs Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of Iran's final Shah, who commands an overseas opposition movement from the United States.
Despite these political ties, the prosecutor has refused to confirm whether a foreign government was involved in the assassination plot.
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