Triangulation between Italy, the US
and Iran helped secure Cecilia Sala's release after the
journalist was detained in Tehran three days after the Milan
arrest of an Iranian engineer on US terror charges and held for
three weeks in the notorious Evin Prison, Premier Giorgia Meloni
told an end-of-year press conference Thursday.
She also said that talks were continuing with the US on the
engineer, Mohammed Abedini Najafabadi, accused of exporting
drone parts used to kill three US servicemen in Jordan a year
ago, who is in a Milan jail awaiting a house arrest hearing on
January 15.
"There was a diplomatic triangulation effort with Iran and the
US regarding a turning point in the case, I wouldn't say there
was a turning point because the issue was followed from the
beginning," Meloni told the press conference in Rome.
"The discussions with Iran are of a diplomatic and intelligence
nature, the government is bound to confidentiality in these
cases.
"(Cabinet Secretary with intelligence brief Alfredo) Mantovano
was at the (parliamentary intelligence service oversight body)
COPASIR and is ready to return to the case in a further
hearing, let's remember that there are another 500 Italians in
Iran and we must be very cautious".
She went on:
"As for Abedini, the case is being examined by the Ministry of
Justice, there is a technical and political examination, and
according to the treaty with the United States.
"It is an issue that must continue to be discussed with American
friends: I would have liked to speak about it with Biden - who
had to cancel his trip (to Rome) and to whom we send our
solidarity.
"There are and will be discussions: the still complex work was
not finished yesterday and I think it must be discussed in
detail in the appropriate places".
Sala, 29, a freelance reporter for Il Foglio newspaper and a
podcaster at Chora News, returned to Italy Wednesday after being
released by Iran.
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