Sweden must bring Qur'an desecration perpetrators to justice

Speaking on Saturday, the Iranian president said, "Issuing a statement to condemn the insult against the Holy Qur'an by the Swedish government is by no means sufficient and this government must bring the perpetrators of this crime to justice."

The Iranian president made the comments after a Sweden-based Iraqi refugee, identified as Salwan Momika, desecrated Muslims' holy book. He committed the sacrilegious act first in front of Stockholm's biggest mosque in late June, and for the second time outside the Iraqi embassy in the same city on Thursday, amid strict protection provided by the Swedish police.

The act of sacrilege has opened the floodgates of protests across the Muslim world, including in Iran, with all Muslim countries issuing vehement condemnations of the heinous act.

Noting that the tenures of the current Iranian and Swedish ambassadors have come to an end, Iran's chief executive said he has ordered the Foreign Ministry not to go ahead with the exchange of new ambassadors between the two countries.

Reacting to Momika's sacrilegious act, Iran has already summoned Sweden's envoy to Tehran to convey the Islamic Republic's strongly-worded protest to the Swedish government.

On Friday, Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said the country will not accept a new Swedish ambassador following the desecration of the Holy Qur'an in the Scandinavian country.

"Based on an order by President [Ebrahim Raeisi], the new ambassador of Sweden will not be allowed to return to Iran until the country's government takes a serious and effective measure to deal with the continuous violation of Islamic sanctities," Amir-Abdollahian said in a televised interview.

Raeisi also referred to the remarks made earlier on Saturday by Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, who called for the “severest punishment” for the perpetrator of the desecration of the Holy Qur’an in Sweden.

Ayatollah Khamenei warned the Swedish government that by supporting a criminal, it has attracted the hatred and enmity of the Muslim nations and many of their governments.

“As the Leader of the Islamic Revolution pointed out, this incident is a conspiratorial and dangerous development and the support of the Swedish government for this criminal act is equivalent to taking battle array against the Muslim world,” Iran's president said.

Iran has also written a letter to Secretary General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres, urging the world body to take a hard line on such acts of sacrilege and require its member states to prevent their repetition.

Also on Saturday, the chief commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) said Muslims will soon take revenge on all those involved in and responsible for the acts of sacrilege against the Holy Qur'an.

"We will not allow those who insult the Qur'an to be secure," Major General Hossein Salami said.

Salami also urged Muslim countries to adopt all necessary measures and strategies to prevent and end the vicious policy of Islamophobia and insult to the Holy Qur'an and Muslims' sanctities, stressing the need for international support in this regard.