Italian journalist released from Iran and returns home

An Italian journalist who had been detained in Iran for three weeks was released on Wednesday and returned home. Her case had become linked to that of an Iranian engineer arrested in Italy, who is sought by the United States, News.az reports citing AP news.

A plane carrying Cecilia Sala, 29, landed at Rome’s Ciampino airport, where Premier Giorgia Meloni was on hand to welcome her alongside Sala’s family members. Sala descended from the plane and ran to embrace her boyfriend, Daniele Raineri, who later posted a photo of a smiling Sala greeting Meloni in the airport on social media.

Sala’s liberation marked a major diplomatic and political victory for Meloni, whose recent visit to President-elect Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago retreat greatly enhanced her stature internationally at a time when Italy was negotiating Sala’s release.

In announcing that Sala was flying home, Meloni’s office said the premier had personally informed Sala’s parents and credited the release to the government’s “intensive work on diplomatic and intelligence channels.”

News.Az