Iran warns Italy that bilateral ties at risk if it bows to 'hostile' US demands over drone suspect

ROME — Iran warned Italy on Friday that it risked harming good bilateral relations if it bows to the ''political and hostile goals'' of the United States by detaining an Iranian engineer on a U.S. warrant in connection with a drone attack in Jordan last year that killed three American troops.

Tehran issued the warning to the Italian ambassador to Iran, Paola Amadei, who was summoned to the foreign ministry, the official IRNA news agency reported. The meeting took place a day after Italy summoned the Iranian ambassador over the detention of an Italian journalist in Tehran.

The back-to-back diplomatic summonses underscored how a three-nation tangle over the fates of the two prisoners was getting ever more complicated for Italy, which is a historic ally of Washington but maintains traditionally good relations with Tehran.

Mohammad Abedini was arrested by Italian authorities at Milan's Malpensa airport on Dec. 16 on a U.S. warrant. The U.S. Justice Department accused him and another Iranian of supplying the drone technology to Iran that was used in a January 2024 attack on a U.S. outpost in Jordan that killed three American troops.

Three days later, an Italian reporter for the Il Foglio daily, Cecilia Sala, was detained in Tehran. She had arrived in the country on Dec. 13 on a journalist visa and was arrested on charges of violating the laws of the Islamic Republic, IRNA said.

Italian commentators have speculated that Iran is holding Sala as a bargaining chip to ensure Abedini's release, and both governments have linked their fates to one another in public statements.

According to IRNA, a foreign ministry official, Majid Nili Ahmadabadi, told Amadei that Rome's continued detention of Abedini was an ''illegal act that is done based on the U.S. demand and in line with the political and hostile goals of the country to hold Iranian nationals hostage in various points in the world."

As a result, all eyes will be on the Milan court of appeals, which scheduled a hearing for Jan. 15 to decide whether to keep Abedini at Milan's Opera prison or grant him house arrest pending the start of the lengthy extradition process to the U.S.

The U.S. government hasn't commented publicly on Abedini's petition, but in the past it has complained to Italy's justice ministry about a half-dozen cases of suspects wanted by the U.S. who escaped from the Italian justice system before they could be extradited.

On Friday, Abedini's lawyer, Alfredo De Francesco visited his client in prison and said he had asked him about Sala. He said Abedini had heard about Sala's case inside the prison and didn't understand any connection to him.

''He asked me if she had been arrested and how she had been arrested, and why in some way they wanted to connect her to him,'' the lawyer said. ''I explained the situation to him, even what is said on television, because it is useless to deny it, but I explained to him.''

The lawyer stressed that on the surface the two cases are separate but said Abedini was emotional in hearing about her plight.

U.S. federal prosecutors charged Abedini and his co-defendant with export control violations after FBI specialists analyzed the drone navigation system used in the Jordan attack and traced it to them. U.S. prosecutors said Abedini's Tehran-based company manufactures navigation systems for the military drone program of Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard.

Iran's embassy to Italy has connected Sala's fate to that of Abedini, saying in a statement posted to X that it will respect Sala's rights and expects Italy to do the same for Abedini.

The delicate diplomatic triangle poses something of a headache for the government of Premier Giorgia Meloni, which is still stinging from the embarrassment of having lost track of another high-profile target wanted by the U.S.

Russian businessman Artyom Uss, wanted by the U.S. on alleged sanctions violations, escaped from Italy in 2022 after he was granted house arrest, despite warnings from the U.S. that he was a flight risk.

Uss, the son of a Russian regional governor, later resurfaced in Russia. Meloni acknowledged at the time that there were grave ''anomalies'' in the handling of his case and ordered an investigation.

The issue could come up next week when Meloni hosts President Joe Biden on his final foreign trip before leaving office.

Traditionally, Iran has enjoyed calm diplomatic relations with Italy compared to other European nations such as Britain, France and Germany. Those countries routinely accuse Tehran of supplying short-range ballistic missiles to Russia and producing weapon-grade uranium, charges Iran denies.

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