Iran welcomes the return of its citizen detained in Italy in the dispute between the United States | Politics news
The United States had asked Italy to arrest and extradite the Iranian citizen for allegedly transferring drone technology.
Tehran, Iran – The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the judiciary in Iran confirmed the release of Iranian citizen Mohammad Abedini, who was arrested in Italy at the request of the United States.
The official Mizan news agency of the judiciary said on Sunday that Abedini was returned to Tehran after being arrested as part of a “misunderstanding.”
The report, which was also broadcast on state television, said his release took place after talks between the Iranian Ministry of Intelligence and the Italian intelligence service.
In a short statement, Foreign Ministry spokesman Ismail Baghaei welcomed the release of the Iranian citizen, whom Washington accuses of involvement in a drone attack in January 2024 on an American site in Jordan that led to the death of three American soldiers. He stressed that the ministry will defend the rights of Iranian citizens abroad.
Abedini was arrested on a US arrest warrant on December 16, after he and another Iranian were charged with supplying Iran with drone technology that was used at the US military base.
He was scheduled to appear in court in Milan on Wednesday in connection with his attempted house arrest pending his extradition to the United States. But the Italian Ministry of Justice asked the Court of Appeal to cancel his arrest, considering that this “is not consistent with any behavior that Italian law considers a crime.”
Three days after Abedini’s arrest, Italian journalist Cecilia Sala was arrested in Tehran while traveling on a regular journalist visa and accused of “violating the laws of the Islamic Republic.”
The writer and podcast host was released last week from solitary confinement in Evin Prison in the Iranian capital and returned to her homeland, where she was welcomed by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani.
Meloni personally made a surprise visit to Mar-a-Lago’s residence in Florida, the United States, several days ago to meet with US President-elect Donald Trump, who described her as a “wonderful woman.”
Tehran rejected any speculation from the West that the journalist’s arrest was linked to Abedini’s detention in Rome at the direction of the United States. The Iranian establishment has been accused for decades of using some prisoners as bargaining chips in negotiations with the West.
A Swiss national who was being held on espionage charges died in a prison in Iran’s Semnan province on Thursday.
Last month, a court in Iran sentenced an Iranian-American journalist to 10 years in prison on charges of “cooperating with the hostile American government.”
Iran also accuses the West, especially the United States, of targeting its citizens in accordance with Washington’s unilateral sanctions and blacklists, many of which were imposed after then-US President Trump backed out of Iran’s nuclear deal with world powers in 2018.
Tensions remain high
Abedini’s release on Sunday comes as Iran and the region continue to remain on high alert amid the growing fallout from Israel’s war on Gaza with just days remaining until Trump’s second presidency.
Iran’s top commanders in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the military this week warned the United States and Israel against any strikes on Iran’s nuclear or energy infrastructure.
On Sunday, the Iranian Armed Forces completed large-scale military exercises aimed at practicing multi-layered defense of the Fordo and Khandab nuclear sites using multiple missile defense and radar systems.
As part of the exercises that began last week and are scheduled to continue for weeks, the IRGC also simulated defending the country’s main nuclear facilities at Natanz against attack using fighter jets, missiles and bunker-buster bombs.
Iran’s armed forces also unveiled another “missile city” this week to show off hundreds of ballistic missiles that leaders said would be ready to fire at Israel and US bases across the region if Iran came under attack.
As part of a show of force, which comes after Iran lost much of its regional axis of resistance with the fall of President Bashar al-Assad in Syria, Iran this week also paraded 110,000 troops in demonstrations in Tehran.
Iran’s nuclear program could take different paths as well, with the Trump administration’s position expected to determine the balance of relations in 2025, as the West also continues to accuse Tehran of arming Russia in the war with Ukraine.
