Italian journalist Cecilia Sala has arrived back in the country’s capital after being freed from an Iranian prison where she had spent weeks in detention.

An Italian journalist detained in Iran for three weeks has been freed and has returned home, after her fate had become intertwined with that of an Iranian engineer arrested in Italy and wanted by the United States.

Cecilia Sala, who was arrested in Tehran and jailed for three weeks, has arrived back in Italy, hours after Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's office announced her release.

The Italian journalist returned to Rome on Wednesday after weeks of diplomatic wrangling between Italy and Iran.

Celilia Sala, 29, was working under a regular journalistic visa when she was detained in Tehran on December 19, accused of “violating the laws of the Islamic Republic”.

The Italian journalist Cecilia Sala, arrested on December 19 in Iran, was released and repatriated, the Italian government announced. She was arrested for “violating the laws” of the Islamic Republic.

A plane carrying the 29-year-old landed at Rome’s Ciampino airport on Wednesday. Her overjoyed parents and partner were on hand to welcome her back, as were the prime minister, the foreign minister, and the mayor of Rome.

After more than three weeks of detention, Cecilia Sala has been released from Tehran's Evin Prison and was met at the airport in Rome by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

Cecilia Sala, 29, was detained last month while on a reporting trip. She had been held for 20 days and told her family that she was kept in isolation.

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