This morning the plane bringing Cecilia Sala back to Italy has departed from Tehran. The journalist, who had been arrested on Dec. 19 in Tehran, was freed thanks to an “intense” diplomatic and intelligence operation, as confirmed in a statement issued by Rome’s Palazzo Chigi (the Prime Minister’s Office).
The Italian government expressed satisfaction with the return of the 29-year-old reporter, who was taken into custody by Iranian authorities last Dec. 19, three days after she arrived in the country on a journalistic visa.
Many experts have speculated that Iran detained the young woman to secure the release of Mohammad Abedini, who was arrested at Milan’s Malpensa airport three days earlier, on Dec. 16. The arrest had come at the behest of the United States, which accuses him of providing the Pasdaran with drone technology used in the January 2024 attack on a U.S. outpost in Jordan that cost the lives of three American soldiers. The man, however, reportedly remains in the custody of Italian authorities.
“Thanks to intensive work on diplomatic and intelligence channels, our compatriot has been released by Iranian authorities and is returning to Italy,” the statement from Palazzo Chigi explained.
“Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni expresses gratitude to all those who helped make Cecilia’s return possible, allowing her to re-embrace her family and colleagues.” Meloni, it is explained, “personally informed the journalist’s parents during a phone call a few minutes ago.”
The plane of the Presidency of the Council with the journalist on board is scheduled to arrive at Ciampino airport in Rome around 3:30 p.m.
