Iranian engineer and businessman Mohammad Abedini was arrested on Dec. 16, at the request of the United States, by the Italian police in Milan’s Malpensa Airport after landing on a flight from Turkey.
As indicated in a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice dated that day, Abedini and an Iranian-American business associate—Mahdi Mohammad Sadeghi, who was arrested in Massachusetts—have been charged with conspiring to export sophisticated electronic components from the United States to Iran in violation of U.S. export control and sanctions laws.
Abedini is also charged with providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization, which resulted in the deaths of U.S. military personnel after a drone strike on Jan. 28, 2024, on the Tower 22 outpost in Jordan that killed three American soldiers and injured more than 40 others. According to the FBI, the attack was carried out by Tehran-backed militias and was equipped with a navigation system produced by Abedini’s company, San’at Danesh Rahpooyan Aflak (SDRA).
“SDRA’s main business is selling a proprietary navigation system, known as the Sepehr Navigation System, to the IRGC, which the United States designated” as a foreign terrorist entity in April 2019, per the Justice Department. “The primary application of SDRA’s Sepehr Navigation System is for use in UAVs, as well as cruise and ballistic missiles.”
As reported on Dec. 21 by the U.K.-based Iranian opposition media outlet Iran International, Iranian authorities complained about the lack of official notification to their embassy about Abedini’s detention, calling the arrest “a clear example of abduction.” Tehran has hired an Italian lawyer, Alfredo Di Francesco, who, on Dec. 28, told the Italian press agency AGI, “After reading and critically analyzing the documents that led to his arrest, my client’s position is much less serious than it might seem.”
Washington formalized its extradition request for Abedini on Dec. 28, and the Appeal Court of Milan will have to evaluate whether to accept Washington’s request. Final approval rests in the hands of the Italian minister of justice, Carlo Nordio, who will have 10 days to make the extradition effective if approved by the Milan courts.
Days after Abedini’s detention, Cecilia Sala, a 29-year-old Italian journalist, was apprehended from her hotel in Tehran by Iranian agents and placed under arrest in an isolation cell at the infamous Evin prison. News of her Dec. 19 arrest only emerged in the Italian media on Dec. 27. The delay was most likely due to secret negotiations between the Italian authorities and the Iranian regime.
Sala left Rome for Iran on Dec. 12 with a regular visa to conduct interviews and record some episodes for the podcast “Stories,” which she edits for Chora Media. She was supposed to fly back to Italy on Dec. 20. Before the trip, Sala shared her plan with the Iranian authorities, who granted her a visa for eight days that could be extended if needed.
On Dec. 30, after 11 days of detention, Iranian authorities finally provided some very generic charges against Sala, accusing her of “violating Islamic laws,” whatever that means. It became clear that Sala’s detention was not just in retaliation for Abedini’s arrest, but as a means to pressure Italy and obtain the engineer’s release.
As exposed by the Italian newspaper Il Giornale on Dec. 31, Italy’s ambassador to Iran, Paola Amadei, met with Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Vahid Jalazadeh on Dec. 29 and was told that the charges against Sala had not yet been formulated with certainty. But he hinted that Sala was detained to obtain the release of Abedini.
It is important to note that the search for potential charges against Sala began only after her detention in Evin and, until Dec. 31, the Iranian authorities hadn’t been able to provide precise charges.
The United States has called for Sala’s immediate and unconditioned release, along with all those detained without just cause. As a spokesman for the U.S. State Department said: “Unfortunately, the Iranian regime continues to unjustly detain citizens of many countries, often to use them as political leverage.”
Of course, there is a clear difference between an arrest made under international law, as in the case of Abedini, and the kidnapping of Sala, a private citizen and journalist. The Iranian regime—the main puppet master of Mideast terrorism—doesn’t acknowledge this distinction.
As explained by professor Adrian Calamel, a terrorism fellow at the Arabian Peninsula Institute and an expert on Iran, “Tehran’s tactics have been categorized or defined as hostage diplomacy when, in fact, it is pure terrorism. The strategy has been quite simple; while the world plays inside the diplomatic sandbox, the regime is playing outside, nabbing innocent people to be used as bargaining chips for billions of dollars or to spring a regime operative from arrest, extradition and imprisonment. The case with Cecilia Sala is no different.”
Italy is now in an extremely delicate position. If it frees Abedini to obtain Sala’s release, it risks infuriating its ally, the United States. It also risks losing its credibility at the international level, especially given that, in 2023, a Russian citizen, Artem Uss, escaped from Milan where he was under house arrest awaiting possible extradition to the United States.
On the other hand, if Italy does not come to terms with the Iranian regime, then Sala risks remaining in Evin for a long time.
Giving in to the Iranian regime’s pressure would imply it was negotiating with terrorists, which is unacceptable as it would also encourage further kidnappings of foreign citizens by Iranian-sponsored terrorism.
The right path would be to keep a firm and rigorous line regarding the arrest and potential extradition of Abedini to the United States, while at the same time implementing strong international pressure and tougher measures against Tehran. However, nothing can be taken for granted.
On Dec. 29, the Italian press agency Ansa reported that the Milan Prosecutor’s Office had opened a “model 45 file,” that is an investigation without suspects or criminal charges, on the methods used to arrest Abedini.
There is already talk circulating in local media circles of possible legal technicalities that could lead to a challenge to the manner of Abedini’s arrest and possibly result in his release. This would not be well-accepted in Washington, especially since in a few weeks, President-elect Donald Trump will take over at the White House, and his hardline positions towards Iran are well-known. Indeed, Abedini’s release could lead to repercussions in the relations between the United States and Italy, something the Meloni government cannot afford.