WNAM REPORT: The Iranian Embassy in Rome says Ambassador Mohammad Reza Sabouri has exchanged views with Italy’s Foreign Ministry Secretary-General Riccardo Guariglia about consular issues and the cases of detained nationals.
In a note sent to the IRNA news agency on Thursday, the Embassy said Sabouri held “a friendly meeting” at the Italian foreign Ministry with Guariglia at the invitation of the latter.
During the meeting, the two sides discussed the latest situation of Iranian citizen Mohammad Abedini, who is jailed in Milan over unfounded accusations, as well as the case of Italian national Cecilia Sala, who is imprisoned for violating Iran’s law, according to the note.
Sabouri explained at the meeting that relevant Iranian bodies, based on Islamic clemency and humanitarian considerations, have provided Sala with all she needs, including access to the consular section of the Italian diplomatic mission and repeated phone calls with her family.
Tehran, in return, expects the Italian government to expedite the release of Abedini and provide him with necessary comfort items, he added.
Abedini was arrested on December 16 at Milan’s Malpensa airport on a US warrant alleging he was involved in the 28 January drone attack against a US military outpost in Jordan.
In a statement, the General Directorate of Foreign Media of Iran’s Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance said Sala traveled to Iran on December 13 on a journalist’s visa and was arrested six days later for violating the law of the Islamic Republic.
Sala’s case is under investigation and her arrest was carried out in accordance with regulations, the statement read, adding that the Italian Embassy in Tehran has been informed of the matter.
The Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance has always welcomed the lawful activities of international journalists in Iran and has protected their legal rights, it emphasized.
