عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
World

Putin Congratulates Iran’s Pezeshkian, Calls for Bilateral Cooperation

Russian President Vladimir Putin reads his press statement after the talks with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Friday, July 5, 2024. (AP)
Russian President Vladimir Putin reads his press statement after the talks with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Friday, July 5, 2024. (AP)
TT
TT

Putin Congratulates Iran’s Pezeshkian, Calls for Bilateral Cooperation

Russian President Vladimir Putin reads his press statement after the talks with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Friday, July 5, 2024. (AP)
Russian President Vladimir Putin reads his press statement after the talks with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, Friday, July 5, 2024. (AP)

Russian President Vladimir Putin has congratulated Masoud Pezeshkian on his election as the new president of Iran, the Kremlin said on Saturday.

"I hope that your activities as president will contribute to further building up constructive bilateral cooperation in all areas for the benefit of our friendly peoples, in the interests of simplifying regional security and stability," the statement said.

Pezeshkian has pledged to open Iran to the world and deliver freedoms its people have yearned for.

Most Viewed

 
 
World

Italian Journalist Cecilia Sala Released from Iran and Returning Home

This photograph taken in Pordenone on September 16, 2023, shows Italian journalist Cecilia Sala posing for a photo at the Pordenonelegge Literature Festival in Pordenone. (ANSA/AFP)
This photograph taken in Pordenone on September 16, 2023, shows Italian journalist Cecilia Sala posing for a photo at the Pordenonelegge Literature Festival in Pordenone. (ANSA/AFP)
TT
TT

Italian Journalist Cecilia Sala Released from Iran and Returning Home

This photograph taken in Pordenone on September 16, 2023, shows Italian journalist Cecilia Sala posing for a photo at the Pordenonelegge Literature Festival in Pordenone. (ANSA/AFP)
This photograph taken in Pordenone on September 16, 2023, shows Italian journalist Cecilia Sala posing for a photo at the Pordenonelegge Literature Festival in Pordenone. (ANSA/AFP)

An Italian journalist detained in Iran since Dec. 19 and whose fate became intertwined with that of an Iranian engineer wanted by the United States was freed Wednesday and is heading home, Italian officials announced.

A plane carrying Cecilia Sala took off from Tehran after “intensive work on diplomatic and intelligence channels,” Premier Giorgia Meloni’s office said, adding that Meloni had informed Sala's parents of the news.

There was no immediate word from the Iranian government on the journalist’s release.

Sala, a 29-year-old reporter for the Il Foglio daily, was detained in Tehran on Dec. 19, three days after she arrived on a journalist visa. She was accused of violating the laws of the country, the official IRNA news agency said.

Italian commentators had speculated that Iran was holding Sala as a bargaining chip to ensure the release of Mohammad Abedini, who was arrested at Milan’s Malpensa airport three days before on Dec. 16, on a US warrant.

The US Justice Department accused him and another Iranian of supplying the drone technology to Iran that was used in a January 2024 attack on a US outpost near the Syrian-Jordanian border that killed three American troops.

He remains in detention in Italy.