Iran Arrests Italian Reporter After US Drone-Parts Arrest in Milan Linked to Killing of US Soldiers

Cecilia Sala, a 29-year-old Italian war correspondent, has been arrested in Tehran while reporting on the shifting political landscape in Iran, Italy’s foreign ministry confirmed. Sala, who works for the Italian newspaper Il Foglio and the podcast company Chora Media, was detained on December 19 while working on a routine journalist visa. 

The arrest of a foreign journalist in Theran has prompted widespread international concern and calls for her release.

Sala reportedly left Rome, Italy, on December 12 and was scheduled to return on December 20, the day following her arrest. The news of her arrest was made public on Friday after it had been kept under wraps for several days. 

Sala has reported from conflict zones around the world, including coverage of the fall of Kabul, the crisis in Venezuela, the war in Ukraine, and the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict. 

Sala’s recent reporting covered how Iran’s “axis of resistance,” a coalition of Iran and its regional allies, has begun to unravel following the fall of Syria’s president Bashar al-Assad. She also reported on the growing defiance among Iranian women who are increasingly refusing to wear the mandatory hijab, a challenge to the Islamic regime’s control. Additionally, Sala interviewed an Iranian stand-up comedian who had been jailed by the government.

Sala was reportedly held in solitary confinement for a week before being transferred to Tehran’s notorious Evin prison, a facility infamous for holding individuals facing security-related charges. Human rights groups have long criticized Evin for its treatment of detainees, and it has been blacklisted by the U.S. government due to its involvement in “serious human rights abuses.”

A 2018 statement on sanctions from the U.S. Treasury said:

“Prisoners held at Evin prison are subject to brutal tactics inflicted by prison authorities, including sexual assaults, physical assaults, and electric shock.”

The Italian government has closely monitored the situation, with Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani stating that efforts are underway to clarify the legal grounds for Sala’s detention and ensure her wellbeing. Despite the grave circumstances, it has been confirmed that she is in good health, having made two brief phone calls to her family. Ambassador Paola Amadei visited Sala at Evin on Friday, providing further reassurances.

Chora Media, the podcast company that works with Sala, expressed its outrage, calling for her immediate release:

 “Her free voice has been silenced, and neither Italy nor Europe cannot tolerate this arbitrary arrest.”

#FreeCecilia pic.twitter.com/idnzNW3oAJ

— Chora Media (@Chora_Media) December 27, 2024

The Iranian government has not yet acknowledged the detention of Sala, and it remains unclear what charges, if any, she faces. Her arrest comes amid an increasingly hostile climate for journalists in the country, where authorities have targeted foreign reporters, especially those covering dissent and human rights abuses.

In a troubling parallel, the day before Sala’s arrest, Milan police announced the detention of a 38-year-old Iranian man accused by the United States of supplying drone components to Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, the country’s primary military force. The man, which Milan did not name, faces potential extradition to the U.S. 

Earlier that week, the Justice Department charged two men with illegally providing parts for a drone attack carried out by an Iranian-backed militia that killed three U.S. service members and injured at least 47 others at a military base in Jordan in January.

The DOJ announced the pair of arrests on December 16, identifying the men as Mahdi Mohammad Sadeghi, 42, a dual U.S.-Iranian national arrested in Natick, Massachusetts, and Mohammad Abedininajafabadi, also known as Mohammad Abedini (Abedini), 38, of Tehran, Iran who was arrested at the request of the US in Milan.

Read More:

Two Iranians Charged in Fatal Drone Strike That Killed Three US Soldiers

BREAKING: Drone Strike Kills Iranian-Backed Militia Commander Involved in Attack That Killed 3 US Troops

As RedState previously reported:

The fallen soldiers, all residents of Georgia, were identified as:

• Sgt. William Jerome Rivers (46), an Army Reserve interior electrician.
• Spc. Kennedy Ladon Sanders (24), a horizontal construction engineer.
• Spc. Breonna Alexsondria Moffett (23), also a horizontal construction engineer.

All three soldiers were assigned to the 718th Engineer Company, 926th Engineer Battalion, based in Fort Moore, Georgia. They were deployed as part of Operation Inherent Resolve, the U.S.-led coalition’s mission to combat ISIS in the region.

The Iranian regime has a long history of using individuals with Western ties as bargaining chips, dating back to the 1979 U.S. embassy crisis, when 52 American hostages were held for 444 days. With Sala’s detention, concerns are rising that Iran may be similarly leveraging her arrest as part of broader negotiations with Western powers.

Italy’s foreign ministry is negotiating for Sala’s release.

This is a developing story RedState will continue to monitor.