In the first official reaction from the Iranian government regarding the arrest of “Cecilia Sala,” the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance has accused this Italian journalist of “violating the laws of the Islamic Republic of Iran.”
The Foreign Media Office of the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance announced on Monday, December 30, 2024, in a statement: “Ms. Cecilia Sala, an Italian citizen, traveled to Iran on a journalist visa on December 13, 2024, and was arrested on December 19, 2024, on charges of violating the laws of the Islamic Republic of Iran.”
In another section of the statement, the Ministry wrote: “Her case (Cecilia Sala) is currently under investigation. Her arrest was carried out in accordance with the relevant regulations, and the Italian embassy in Tehran has been informed.” The ministry provided no further explanation regarding what it termed as “violating the laws of the Islamic Republic.”
Previously, the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on December 27, 2024, that an Italian citizen had been arrested in Iran. The Italian Foreign Minister emphasized that the timeline for Cecilia Sala’s release is uncertain and stated that negotiations in this matter are very sensitive and not easy. He described the situation as complex.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of State reacted to Cecilia Sala’s arrest by calling it a “retaliatory” action by the Iranian government following the arrest of an Iranian-Swiss citizen suspected of violating U.S. arms sanctions against Iran. This U.S. official told the Italian newspaper “La Repubblica”: “Unfortunately, the Iranian government continues to unjustly detain citizens from many countries and often uses them as tools for political pressure.”
The spokesperson’s reference was to the arrest of Mohammad Abedini Najafabadi, who was detained at Milan airport just three days before Cecilia Sala’s arrest in Tehran. Mohammad Abedini Najafabadi has been charged with “supplying electronic components for making lethal weapons such as drones for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and also financially supporting terrorism.”
The coincidence of these two events has once again spurred speculation about the Iranian government’s attempts to use arbitrary detentions of foreign nationals as a means to negotiate the exchange of its own citizens detained abroad. In the past, numerous citizens from various countries have been exchanged in Iran for Iranian citizens connected to the government.