At Jerusalem’s Second International Conference on Combating Antisemitism, the leader of the Swedish right-wing party Sweden Democrats, Jimmie Åkesson, pledged stronger measures against terrorism ahead of the upcoming Swedish general election.
Speaking to an audience that included the prime minister of Albania, the former chancellor of Austria, and Flávio Bolsonaro, a presidential candidate in Brazil, Åkesson announced initiatives to reactivate a “Swedish national terror list.” Currently, Sweden uses EU and UN terrorist designations, which Åkesson marked as insufficient in combating terrorism.
“The need for such a list has emerged from the sad fact that the European Union is too weak and too indecisive to handle this matter,” he said.
Åkesson also called for the designation of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the Muslim Brotherhood as terrorist organizations.
“There is an EU terror list, but it is far from effective and far from complete,” he said.
“While such a list would include all types of terror organizations, it is highly relevant to the fight against antisemitism. Not least because two of the most urgent movements to be banned under a Swedish terror designation are the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of Iran and the Muslim Brotherhood, both deeply antisemitic and dangerous organizations. We will advance this proposal ahead of the upcoming election later this fall.”
In recent years, Iran was reported to have recruited gangs in Sweden to carry out attacks against Israeli and Jewish targets, leading to Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson calling for the EU to list the IRGC as a terrorist group.
Actions included shootings against the Israeli embassy in Stockholm and Israeli defense company Elbit Systems, as well as a possible attempted assassination of Aron Verständig, the chairman of Sweden’s Jewish Central Council.
Sharp increase in Swedish antisemitism
Antisemitism has recently seen a sharp increase in Sweden, which is home to roughly 15,000 Jews. Jewish sites such as schools, synagogues, and community centers require constant protection and have often been subjected to attacks.
The Sweden Democrats party was born out of far-right and Nazi-aligned groups in the 1980s, championing an anti-immigration platform. Since then, the Sweden Democrats has strived to reform its image, and in June 2025, Åkesson apologized to Sweden’s Jewish community for its historical antisemitism.
Since 2022, the Sweden Democrats has played a supporting role to the incumbent government, though not a part of the ruling coalition. As of January 2026, it polled second among parties standing for election in September.