Tehran, Jul 31 (IANS): The Iranian Intelligence Ministry announced that it recently arrested a Swedish citizen over "espionage" charges.

The detainee had some "suspicious behaviour and communication during his previous multiple trips to Iran", Xinhua news agency quoted the Ministry as saying in a statement.

It noted that the suspect had communicated with a number of "European and non-European suspicious elements who were under surveillance in Iran".

The suspect entered Iran a few months ago "after the arrest of another European spy, with the mission of obtaining information on how the identity of that spy had revealed and the type and amount of information that had been fallen to the hand of the Ministry", the statement added.

The arrested person had also a history of visiting Israel before travelling to Iran, the statement said without specifying the name of the suspect.

In June, a Swedish court sentenced a former Iranian official to life in prison after being convicted of committing "war crimes and murder" in the 1980s.

The accusations were rejected by the convict.