By Crispian Balmer
ROME (Reuters) -Italian journalist Cecilia Sala was freed by Iran on Wednesday and returned home, three weeks after she was detained in Tehran during a reporting trip.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani were on hand to greet the 29-year-old as she flew back into Rome, highlighting the political importance attached to her case.
Sala, a writer and podcaster, had been working with a regular journalist visa when she was detained in Tehran on Dec. 19, accused of "violating the laws of the Islamic Republic".
She was held three days after Iranian businessman Mohammad Abedini was arrested in Milan on a U.S. warrant for allegedly supplying drone parts that Washington says were used in a 2024 attack that killed three U.S. service members in Jordan.
Iran has denied involvement in last year's attack and had dismissed accusations that it imprisoned Sala to pressure Italy into release Abedini.
The Italian government said in a statement that Sala, who had been held in solitary confinement in Tehran's notorious Evin jail, was freed "thanks to intense work on diplomatic and intelligence channels". It made no mention of Abedini.
Abedini remained in a Milan prison on Wednesday, with a court due to decide next week on his request to be released to house arrest ahead of eventual proceedings to extradite him to the United States.
"For the moment, Abedini's position remains unchanged," Milan prosecutor Francesca Nanni told reporters.
TRUMP MEETING
Sala was released just three days after Meloni made a surprise visit to Florida to see U.S. President-elect Donald Trump. No details of the talks were released, but Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini said they had discussed Sala.
Italian news website Il Post, where Sala's partner works, reported that Trump had given "a sort of green light" to Italy to negotiate with Iran and had promised not to politicise the issue with the outgoing administration of President Joe Biden.
A senior political source declined to give details, but said the Florida meeting had been important and had played a role in Sala's release.
Sala, who works for the newspaper Il Foglio and the podcast company Chora Media, had been in Tehran to report on recent changes in Iranian society. Her father Renato Sala said he was overcome by emotion when he heard that she was heading home.
"I have only cried three times in my life," he said, adding: "During this period, I had the impression that a game of chess was being played, but there were more than just two players."
In recent years, Iran's security forces have arrested dozens of foreigners and dual nationals, mostly on charges related to espionage and security. Rights groups have accused Iran of trying to extract concessions from other countries through such arrests. Iran denies this.
Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said on Sunday that Abedini's detention amounted to a hostage-taking.