Iran confirmed the arrest of Italian journalist Cecilia Sala for "violating the laws of the Islamic Republic", Iran's official IRNA news agency reported on Monday. Sala, 29, who works for the newspaper Il Foglio and the podcast company Chora Media,

Iranian authorities have confirmed the arrest of Italian journalist Cecilia Sala, accusing her of violating the Islamic Republic’s laws. This development has sparked international attention, highlighting Iran’s continued use of detainees as potential political leverage.

Prominent Italian journalist and podcaster Cecilia Sala has been arrested in Iran and incarcerated in Tehran's infamous Evin prison.

ROME (AP) — An Italian journalist who was reporting in Tehran has been detained by the Iranian police, Italy’s foreign ministry said in a statement Friday.

Italy is working “tirelessly” to bring home a journalist who has been under arrest in Iran for more than a week, the country said on Friday.

Cecilia Sala could be used as "political leverage" after an Iranian citizen was detained by Italy, a US state department spokesman has said.

Iran said Monday that Cecilia Sala, an Italian journalist held in Evin Prison since December 19 possibly in retaliation for the Milan arrest three days earlier of a Swiss-Iranian businessman accused of arms trafficking by the US,