Iranian girlfriend costs Norway minister his job

Norway’s rightwing fisheries minister Per Sandberg has quit after breaching security protocol when he went on holiday to Iran with an Iranian-born former beauty queen, in a major media scandal. The deputy head of the anti-immigration Progress Party, which is part of the ruling coalition, admitted he had travelled to Iran in July with his new girlfriend Bahareh Letnes, 28, without informing the prime minister’s office in advance. The 58-year-old also admitted bringing his work phone with him. Norway’s intelligence agency regularly lists Iran as one of the countries most likely to carry out espionage, alongside China and Russia.“Per himself asked to step down, and I think it was the right decision,” Conservative Prime Minister Erna Solberg told media, “He didn’t show the necessary common sense when it comes to handling security issues,” she said.

The story has been making headlines in Norway, fuelling criticism from members of the opposition and Sandberg’s own party, which is in a coalition with the Conservatives and the Liberals. Letnes had her asylum request rejected three times in Norway and was expelled, but finally obtained a residency permit on the grounds that she risked being subjected to a forced marriage in Iran.

The Progress Party favours a strict immigration policy, calling for rejected asylum seekers to be expelled swiftly. It is also highly critical of foreigners who return to their native country after receiving asylum in Norway.