An emotional Sala was greeted with applause in the Ciampino Airport hall where, among others, Meloni, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani and the Mayor of Rome Roberto Gualtieri were present.
As seen in a video released by the prime minister’s office at Palazzo Chigi, Sala thanked the prime minister by bringing her hands to her chest, and then joining them.
Meloni put her hands on her shoulders and said, “Don’t say anything, now you just have to stay calm, okay? I’m here to thank you and to tell you that you were strong.”
Sala, 29, had been working in Iran under a regular journalistic visa but was detained in Tehran on December 19 and held in solitary confinement in the Iranian capital.
She works for the newspaper Il Foglio and the podcast company Chora Media. Her swift release represents a diplomatic win for Meloni, who had feared the case could drag on for weeks.
“I want to express my gratitude to everyone who helped make Cecilia’s return possible,” Meloni said on X.
One Italian newspaper reported that US President-elect Donald Trump had blessed a deal to secure Sala’s release, so long as it happened before his January 20 inauguration. Meloni’s office did not comment on the report.
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.
Meanwhile, the Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said on Sunday that Abedini’s detention amounted to hostage-taking.
Najafabadi was detained at a Milan airport three days before Sala’s arrest under a US warrant on charges of exporting drone parts allegedly used to kill three US servicemen in Jordan a year ago.
Tajani claims that Tehran had wanted the case of Sala separated from that of Iranian engineer Mohammed Adedini Najafabadi.
“The Iranians themselves separated the two [cases],” Tajani told Rai television when asked about the possible impact of the meeting in Florida over the weekend between Meloni and Trump.
“In the meantime, let’s enjoy the return of Cecilia Sala, a good journalist, to Italy.
“I am particularly pleased because I am a personal friend of her father.
“So, in addition to my duty as a minister, I also put in some affection for her father, who is a friend.”
Tajani said Sala’s release showed that the government’s sometimes-criticized approach of working in silence and “under the radar” had paid off.
“That’s how you get positive results, without talking too much, and we succeeded,” he said.
“It was a great team effort of government, the intelligence and diplomatic services, with the direct commitment of the prime minister, Cabinet Secretary [Alfredo] Mantovano and obviously mine as foreign minister.”
ANSA/AAP
