Iran welcomes return of national held in Italy in spat involving the US

Tehran, Iran – Iran’s Foreign Ministry and judiciary have confirmed that Iranian national Mohammad Abedini, who was arrested in Italy at the behest of the United States, has been released.

Abedini was returned to Tehran after being arrested as part of a “misunderstanding”, Mizan, the official news outlet of the judiciary, said on Sunday.

His release was confirmed following discussions between the Iranian intelligence ministry and the Italian intelligence service, according to the report, which was also broadcast by state television.

Washington is accusing the Iranian national of being involved in a drone attack on a US base in Jordan in January 2024, which left three American soldiers dead, according to Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei in a quick statement. He emphasized that the Iranian government would protect Iranian citizens’ freedoms abroad.

Abedini and another Iranian were detained on December 16 after being accused of supplying Iranians with drone technology that was used on the US military base.

In order to avoid an extradition hearing to the US, he was scheduled to appear in court in Milan on Wednesday. However, the Justice Ministry of Italy requested that his arrest be revoked, arguing that it “did not correspond to any conduct that Italian law considers to be illegal.”

Italian journalist Cecilia Sala was detained in Tehran three days after Abedini was detained and accused of “violating the laws of the Islamic Republic” while on a regular journalist visa.

The Iranian-born author and podcaster was released from solitary confinement last week and returned home where she was met by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani.

Meloni had personally paid a surprise visit to the Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida a few days earlier than Donald Trump, who referred to her as a “fantastic woman.”

Tehran has refuted any West speculating that the journalist’s arrest was connected to Rome’s arrest of Abedini in accordance with US advice. In negotiations with the West, the Iranian establishment has long been accused of using some prisoners as bargaining chips.

A Swiss national was detained on suspicion of spying and died on Thursday in Semnan province, Iran.

An Iranian-American journalist was given a 10-year prison sentence last month by an Iranian court for “collaborating with the hostile US government.”

Iran also accuses the West, particularly the US, of violating its citizens in accordance with Washington’s unilateral sanctions and blacklists, many of which were put in place after Trump reneged on Iran’s nuclear deal with the world powers in 2018.

Tensions remain high

With only a few days until a second Trump presidency, Iran and the region are still on high alert as the Israeli-led conflict in Gaza grows.

Iranian top leaders have issued a warning to the US and Israel over any strikes on Iranian nuclear or energy infrastructure this week through the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the army.

The Iranian military conducted extensive military exercises on Sunday to demonstrate how to defend the nuclear sites Fordow and Khondab using a variety of radar and missile defense systems.

The IRGC has also used fighter jets, missiles, and bunker-buster bombs to simulate defense of Natanz’s main nuclear facilities in preparation for the exercises that started last week and are scheduled to continue for weeks.

In addition, Iranian military forces unveiled a second “missile city” this week that will house hundreds of ballistic missiles, according to commanders, who said they would launch them at Israeli and US bases in the region if Iran were attacked.

Iran also this week paraded 110, 000 forces in demonstrations in Tehran as part of the show of force, which comes after Bashar al-Assad’s fall has severely affected the region’s axis of resistance.