Premier Gorgia Meloni returned to
Italy after a flying visit to Florida Sunday after getting
President-elect Donald Trump's OK to turn down a US extradition
request for an Iranian engineer wanted on terror charges so he
could be freed in a prisoner swap for journalist Cecilia Sala,
the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.
Meloni returned from Mar-a-Lago "confident in Trump's
understanding" of the need to free Mohammad Abedini Najafabadi,
the Iranian detained at Malpensa at the request of the United
States on suspicion of supplying drone parts used to kill three
US servicemen in Jordan a year ago, in order to obtain Sala's
release from Tehran's notorious Evim Prison, where she was taken
after being arrested three days after Abedini, the WSJ said.
"Giorgia Meloni - the newspaper wrote - knew that Abedini's
release as part of a prisoner swap risked angering the United
States, including incoming President Donald Trump, who is
expected to renew his policy of 'maximum pressure' on Iran.
"Meloni flew to Florida on Saturday to meet with Trump and
explain that freeing Sala was in Italy's national interest and
that Italy should reject the United States' extradition request
for Abedini.
"Italian officials returned from Florida confident that Meloni
had secured Trump's understanding."
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