Italian journalist Cecilia Sala was freed from imprisonment in Iran on January 8 and returned to Italy. Freedom for Sala followed a direct appeal from Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to Donald Trump at Mar-a-Lago on January 4. Reports emerge that Sala’s boyfriend reached out to Elon Musk, who in turn raised the issue directly with Amb. Iravani, with Musk later confirming he played “a small role” but the Italian government saying he played no role. Musk later said “I did not have any interaction with Iran. Just recommended support from the U.S. side.”
Sala had been arrested on December 19 and sent to Evin Prison, raising strong protests from the Italian government. Her arrest had been preceded by the arrest of a Swiss-Iranian national – Mohammad Abedini – at Milan airport. Abedini had been wanted by the United States for allegedly selling navigation technology that was used in Iran’s military drone program. The Biden Justice Department alleged that Abedini and one other Iranian-American suspect had contributed to a January 2024 drone attack on a U.S. base in Jordan that killed three U.S. soldiers, and sought his extradition from Italy to the U.S. for trial.