Iran Warns of Deteriorating Relations with Italy if US Detainee is Held
Iran has warned Italy that relations between the two countries will deteriorate if Italy continues to hold an Iranian engineer, Mohammad Abedini, in custody based on a US warrant.
The warning was issued to the Italian ambassador in Tehran, Paola Amadei, who was summoned to the Iranian foreign ministry, according to the official news agency IRNA.
The meeting took place a day after the Iranian ambassador to Italy was summoned by Rome over the detention of Italian journalist Cecilia Sala in Tehran.
The back-and-forth diplomatic summonses demonstrate the complexity of the three-way dispute over the fate of the two detainees, as Italy is a US ally but also maintains good relations with Tehran.
Abedini was arrested on December 16 at Milan’s Malpensa airport on a US warrant, accused of delivering drone technology to Iran, which was allegedly used in a January 2024 attack on a US outpost in Jordan, killing three American soldiers.
Iran considers the continued detention of Abedini by Rome to be an “illegal act” carried out at the behest of the US and in line with the country’s “political and hostile goals” of holding Iranian citizens as hostages worldwide.
The Italian appeals court has scheduled a hearing for January 15 to decide whether Abedini will remain in Italian custody or be placed under house arrest until the start of the lengthy extradition process to the US.
Three days after Abedini’s arrest, Italian journalist Cecilia Sala, who works for the daily Il Foglio, was detained in Tehran. She had entered the country with a journalist visa on December 13 and was arrested on the charge of “violating the laws of the Islamic Republic”.
Iran’s embassy in Italy has linked Sala’s case to Abedini’s, stating in a statement that it will respect Sala’s rights and expects Italy to do the same for Abedini.