Tehran denies Sala’s arrest on December 19 is linked to the arrest of an Iranian businessman in Italy on a US warrant.
Iran has released journalist Cecilia Sala after three weeks in prison, Italian Prime Minister Giorgio Meloni’s office said.
Meloni’s office issued a statement on Wednesday announcing that Sala’s release came more than three weeks after his arrest on December 19. Tehran dismissed speculation that his arrest was related to the arrest in Rome of an Iranian businessman, whom the United States accuses of involvement in the incident. its military offensive.
The announcement was met with cheers in Italy, where his plight dominated the headlines. Lawmakers praised the successful negotiations to bring him home, demonstrating the power of Meloni’s political leverage.
“I want to express my gratitude to all those who participated in making Cecilia’s return possible, allowing her to welcome her family and colleagues again,” Meloni wrote in X.
He added that he personally informed Sala’s parents about his release.
In solitary confinement in Iran’s notorious Evin prison, Sala, a reporter for Il Foglio newspaper, was working on a regular journalist visa.
He was arrested three days after Iranian businessman Mohammad Abedini was arrested at Milan Malpensa Airport on a US warrant.
The US Department of Justice has accused Abedini and another Iranian of providing drone technology to Iran that was used in a January 2024 attack on US territory in Jordan, which killed three US soldiers.
Italian analysts speculated that Iran was holding Sala as a bargaining chip. Iran is often accused of using prisoners with Western ties for such purposes.
In September 2023, five Americans imprisoned for years in Iran were released in exchange for five Iranians and $6bn of frozen Iranian assets released by South Korea.
Western journalists have been caught in the past. Roxana Saberi, an American journalist, was imprisoned by Iran in 2009 for almost 100 days before being released.
However, Tehran has completely denied any connection between the two cases. Abedini remains in custody in Italy.
Meloni’s statement said that Sala was released “due to hard work in diplomatic and intelligence stations”. However, it did not mention the Abedini case.
The Italian prime minister met with US President-elect Donald Trump over the weekend and reportedly discussed the issue.
No details of the talks were released, but unconfirmed media reports said Trump had agreed to a deal to secure Sala’s release, as long as it happened before his inauguration on January 20.
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