Iran arrests Italian reporter, Italy says

An Italian journalist has been under arrest in Iran for more than a week, Italy's foreign ministry has said.

Cecilia Sala works for Il Foglio newspaper and for podcast company Chora Media.

The foreign ministry said it was following Ms Sala's case with "utmost attention" since she was detained by Tehran police on 19 December.

There was no immediate confirmation of the arrest by Iranian officials.

Chora Media said in a separate statement that Ms Sala was being held in solitary confinement at the Evin prison in Tehran and that no reason had been given for her detention.

Italy's foreign ministry revealed that Rome's ambassador in Tehran, Paola Amadei, had visited her to check on her detention conditions, adding that she had been allowed to make two phone calls to her family.

It also said Italy "has been working with Iranian authorities to clarify Cecilia Sala's legal situation".

Italy's Defence Minister Giudo Crosetto said that her arrest was "unacceptable" in a post on social media, adding that Italy was using "high-level political and diplomatic action" to try to secure her release.

According to Chora Media, Ms Sala left Rome for Iran on 12 December with a valid journalist visa and had carried out several interviews, producing three episodes of her "Stories" podcast.

It added that she had been due to fly back to Rome on 20 December, but her phone went "silent" after she exchanged a few messages on 19 December.

The last three episodes of Ms Sala's Stories podcast, which has nearly 700 episodes and tens of thousands of ratings on Spotify, heard from a female comedian, a former military commander and a young woman who has rejected conservative values.

In the days leading up to her arrest, Ms Sala had been active on social media, posting about her interview subjects and general photos around Tehran.

Sala's other employer, Il Foglio, has called for her release, saying "journalism is not a crime".

"Cecilia was in Iran, with a regular visa, to report on a country she knows and loves, a country in which information is suffocated by repression," the newspaper said in a statement on its website.

Last week, Iran summoned the Swiss ambassador in Tehran and a senior Italian diplomat over the arrest of two Iranian nationals, Reuters reported, citing Iranian media.