The case of an Italian journalist being held in Iran is "complicated", but Rome hopes to bring 29-year-old Cecilia Sala home quickly, Italy's foreign minister said on Saturday.
Italian journalist Cecilia Sala, Chora Media/via Reuters
The case of an Italian journalist being held in Iran is "complicated", but Rome hopes to bring 29-year-old Cecilia Sala home quickly, Italy's foreign minister said on Saturday.
Sala, 29, who works for the newspaper Il Foglio and the podcast company Chora Media, was detained in Tehran on Dec. 19 but her arrest was only made public on Friday.
Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said he hoped the issue could be resolved quickly but added: "It doesn't depend on us."
"We're trying to solve an issue that's complicated," he was quoted as saying by the news agency ANSA.
Tajani said Sala was being held in a single cell, in decent conditions that Italy would keep monitoring:
"It looks like she is being treated in a way that is respectful of personal dignity," he said. "So far we haven't had negative feedback."
Tajani said the official reason for Sala's detention was not yet clear, but that he hoped her lawyer could visit her soon and find out more.
There was no official public confirmation of the arrest from Iran, and Tajani declined to say whether it might be linked to the arrest of an Iranian in Italy this month at the request of the U.S.
Sala, who is being held in Tehran's Evin prison, left Italy for Iran on Dec. 12 with a valid journalist visa, Chora Media said on Friday. She had been due to fly back to Rome on Dec. 20.
Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said she was following Sala's case closely with the aim of bringing her home as soon as possible, urging media to treat the issue with the "necessary caution".
Reporting by Giulio Piovaccari
No ships have made it past a U.S. naval blockade of Iran's ports and coastal areas, and six merchant ships have followed orders to turn back, the U.S. military said on Tuesday, providing the first details on a day-old effort ordered by President Donald Trump after peace talks between the U.S. and Iran broke down.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio hosted the first direct talks between Israel and Lebanon in decades on Tuesday and both sides said they held positive discussions although it was not immediately clear if they agreed to a framework for peace.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar has signaled his country's desire for full normalization with Lebanon, just ahead of a key round of peace talks scheduled in Washington.
To make this website run properly and to improve your experience, we use cookies. For more detailed information, please check our Cookie Policy.
Necessary cookies enable core functionality. The website cannot function properly without these cookies, and can only be disabled by changing your browser preferences.