ROME –
An Italian journalist detained in Iran for three weeks was freed Wednesday and returned home, after her fate had become intertwined with that of an Iranian engineer arrested in Italy and wanted by the United States.
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’s companion, Daniele Raineri, posted a photo of a smiling Sala greeting Meloni in the airport.
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.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below.
An Italian journalist detained in Iran for three weeks and whose fate became intertwined with that of an Iranian engineer wanted by the United States was …