An Italian journalist detained in Iran for three weeks has been freed and has returned home, after her fate had become intertwined with that of an Iranian engineer arrested in Italy and wanted by the United States.

An Italian journalist detained in Iran has been freed and is heading back to Italy, prime minister Giorgia Meloni has announced. A plane carrying Cecilia Sala, 29, took off from Tehran after “intensive work on diplomatic and intelligence channels”, a statement said.

Premier Giorgia Meloni says she doesn't believe President-elect Donald Trump actually intends to use military force to seize control of Greenland or the Panama Canal.

The sudden resignation of the head of Italy’s secret service has caused a stir in Italian politics, just as Giorgia Meloni’s government negotiated the release of an Italian journalist held by Iran.

An Italian journalist detained in Iran for three weeks was freed Wednesday and returned home, after her fate had become intertwined with that of an Iranian engineer arrested in Italy and wanted by the United States.

Italian journalist Cecilia Sala, freed after three weeks in Iranian detention, returned to Rome, and greeted by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. Her release, tied to a US-wanted Iranian engineer, marked a major political win for Meloni.

By Crispian Balmer ROME (Reuters) -Italian reporter Cecilia Sala has been freed after three weeks in an Iranian prison and is flying home, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's office said on Wednesday. Sala,

Cecilia Sala, an Italian journalist who was locked up in Iran last month, has been freed and is on a plane that departed from Tehran on Wednesday. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni personally informed the journalist’s parents during a phone call that took place a few minutes ago, according to a statement by her office.

Triangulation between Italy, the US and Iran helped secure Cecilia Sala's release after the journalist was detained in Tehran three days after the Milan arrest of an Iranian engineer on US terror charges and held for three weeks in the notorious Evin Prison,

Meloni received a rapturous welcome to Trump's Palm Beach resort, according to videos circulating on social media.

Italian journalist Cecilia Sala was on a plane home Wednesday after being freed from an Iranian prison, the result of tireless diplomatic lobbying behind the scenes, the Italian government said.

PM says her relationship with U.S. president-elect is “very solid” and insists his recent incendiary remarks flow from a “peace-through-strength” approach.