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.

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.

Italian journalist Cecilia Sala has arrived back in the country’s capital after being freed from an Iranian prison where she had spent weeks in detention.

Word of Sala’s release is met with cheers in Italy, where her plight had dominated headlines, as lawmakers hail the successful negotiations to bring

Iran wsa believed to have held Sala as a bargaining chip after an Iranian businessman was arrested in Italy on a U.S. warrant.

Italian journalist Cecilia Sala was freed by Iran on Wednesday and returned home, three weeks after she was detained in Tehran during a reporting trip.