A video showing a man accusing Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo (NCP) of genocide has been viewed thousands of times since being shared by the Iranian state news agency IRNA.
The incident occurred on Monday at a coffee shop in Turku, located near the city's university.
In the video, which lasts about 22 seconds, the man can be heard asking Orpo in Finnish, "how does it feel to commit genocide", before referencing the 316-million-euro missile defence system deal Finland recently agreed with Israel.
The man also repeatedly shouted "4,000 children", an apparent reference to the conflict in Gaza.
"You know that 4,000 children have died there, 4,000 children," he repeats.
The video was shared on social media platform X by IRNA, Iran's state-funded news agency, on Thursday, and had clocked up over 150,000 views by Friday afternoon.
A government security official, Ahti Kurvinen, confirmed to Yle that the video footage is genuine and the incident did occur.
"A security guard blocked the man as he approached the Prime Minister," Kurvinen said, adding that the man was handed over to police when officers arrived.
Orpo was in the café as a customer, Kurvinen also confirmed, and not attending an official public event.
Incidents involving members of the public confronting or physically attacking prime ministers, or former PMs, are relatively rare in Finland — but not entirely unheard of.
Former prime minister Alexander Stubb (NCP) — then finance minister — had cola thrown over him by a man in Tampere in 2015.
Another former PM, Juha Sipilä (Centre), was pushed by a pedestrian while crossing the street near the Finnish Parliament in 2021. Sipilä was a backbench government MP when the incident occurred.