Mohammad Abedini, accused of violating US sanctions, returns to Iran

Ismail Baqaei, spokesperson for the Islamic Republic's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, says Mohammad Abedini Najafabadi, who was detained in Italy, has returned to Iran after his release. Abedini Najafabadi was arrested in Italy for violating US sanctions against Iran regarding the transfer of drone technology to Iran. He was supposed to be extradited to the United States. Italy announced on Sunday, January 13, that Carlo Nordio, the Minister of Justice, had submitted a request to the Milan Court of Appeals to revoke the detention of Mohammad Abedini Najafabadi. According to Italian law, courts in this country are obliged to agree with the Minister of Justice's request. This action by the Italian Ministry of Justice came just four days after the release of Cecilia Sala, an Italian journalist detained by the Iranian government. Ms. Sala had officially traveled to Iran with a press visa and had published reports on recent developments in Iran following the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria. Some media outlets, citing a spokesperson for the US State Department, reported that the detention of this Italian journalist by the Islamic Republic was in retaliation for the arrest of Mohammad Abedini Najafabadi, a Swiss-Iranian citizen, in Italy. The Italian Ministry of Justice stated in a statement that according to Article 2 of the extradition treaty between the United States and Italy, 'only crimes that are punishable under the laws of both parties can lead to extradition,' and this condition is not met based on current documents. The statement adds that the charges against Abedini Najafabadi by the United States regarding his alleged criminal collaboration to violate the 'International Emergency Economic Powers Act' do not correspond to any of the classified crimes under Italian law. The Ministry of Justice also stated that regarding two other charges of 'criminal collaboration to provide material assistance resulting in death to a terrorist organization' and 'providing or attempting to provide material assistance resulting in death to a foreign terrorist organization,' there is currently no evidence to support them. According to the statement, the existing evidence only shows that Abedini Najafabadi was responsible for producing and trading 'technology tools with potential but not exclusive military applications' with the Iranian government through the companies he worked with. In recent years, Iranian security forces have detained dozens of foreign and dual citizens, mainly on charges of espionage and security. Human rights groups accuse the Islamic Republic of 'hostage-taking' to gain political concessions from other countries. The Iranian government denies this. Ahmad Raft: Meloni is likely to request the non-extradition of Abedini to the US during her meeting with Trump. France summoned the Islamic Republic's ambassador; protest against the 'hostage-taking' by the Iranian government. Cecilia Sala, the 'hostage' Italian journalist, has been released. Arrest in Milan, retaliation in Tehran; a knot in the relations between the Islamic Republic and Italy. An Italian newspaper: Cecilia Sala is a prisoner of the ayatollahs. The meeting between Trump and Meloni coincides with the continued detention of the Italian journalist in Iran.