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Italy Summons Iranian Ambassador, Demands Release of Journalist

Italian journalist Cecilia Sala, who was arrested by police in Tehran, Iran on December 19, 2024, according to Italy's foreign ministry, speaks at the event called "Chora Volume 1" in Milan, Italy February 16, 2024 in this picture released by Chora Media/via REUTERS/File Photo
Italian journalist Cecilia Sala, who was arrested by police in Tehran, Iran on December 19, 2024, according to Italy's foreign ministry, speaks at the event called "Chora Volume 1" in Milan, Italy February 16, 2024 in this picture released by Chora Media/via REUTERS/File Photo
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Italy Summons Iranian Ambassador, Demands Release of Journalist

Italian journalist Cecilia Sala, who was arrested by police in Tehran, Iran on December 19, 2024, according to Italy's foreign ministry, speaks at the event called "Chora Volume 1" in Milan, Italy February 16, 2024 in this picture released by Chora Media/via REUTERS/File Photo
Italian journalist Cecilia Sala, who was arrested by police in Tehran, Iran on December 19, 2024, according to Italy's foreign ministry, speaks at the event called "Chora Volume 1" in Milan, Italy February 16, 2024 in this picture released by Chora Media/via REUTERS/File Photo

Italy's foreign ministry summoned the Iranian ambassador on Thursday to demand the immediate release of reporter Cecilia Sala, who was detained in Tehran on Dec. 19 while working under a regular journalistic visa.

The ministry said in a statement it had relayed "serious concern" over Sala's detention and stressed the need for humane treatment and respect for her human rights.

Italian media have reported that Sala is in solitary confinement in a freezing cold cell with a neon light left on night and day. Her glasses have been confiscated and she has had hardly any contact with the outside world.

The secretary general of the Italian foreign ministry, Riccardo Guariglia, demanded that embassy staff in Tehran should be allowed to visit Sala and provide her with "the comfort items that she has been denied so far", the ministry said, Reuters reported.

Iran's official IRNA news agency reported on Monday that Sala had been arrested for "violating the laws of the Islamic Republic". It gave no further information.

Sala was detained three days after an Iranian businessman, Mohammad Abedini, was arrested at Milan's Malpensa Airport on a US warrant for allegedly supplying drone parts that Washington says were used in a 2023 attack that killed three US service members in Jordan.

Iran has denied involvement in the attack, and its foreign ministry was quoted in Iranian media as saying Abedini's arrest violated international law.

In recent years, Iran's security forces have arrested dozens of foreigners and dual nationals, mostly on charges related to espionage and security. Rights groups have accused Iran of trying to extract concessions from other countries through such arrests. Iran denies this.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni is due to discuss Sala's case with her foreign and justice ministers later on Thursday, her office said.

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Taiwan Demonstrates Sea Defenses against Potential Chinese Attack as Tensions Rise with Beijing

A Taiwan navy Tuo Chiang-class corvette(rear) and Kuang Hua VI-class missile boat (front) maneuver during a drill in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, 09 January 2025. EPA/RITCHIE B. TONGO
A Taiwan navy Tuo Chiang-class corvette(rear) and Kuang Hua VI-class missile boat (front) maneuver during a drill in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, 09 January 2025. EPA/RITCHIE B. TONGO
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Taiwan Demonstrates Sea Defenses against Potential Chinese Attack as Tensions Rise with Beijing

A Taiwan navy Tuo Chiang-class corvette(rear) and Kuang Hua VI-class missile boat (front) maneuver during a drill in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, 09 January 2025. EPA/RITCHIE B. TONGO
A Taiwan navy Tuo Chiang-class corvette(rear) and Kuang Hua VI-class missile boat (front) maneuver during a drill in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, 09 January 2025. EPA/RITCHIE B. TONGO

Taiwan on Thursday demonstrated its sea defenses against a potential Chinese attack as tensions rise with Beijing, part of a multitiered strategy to deter an invasion from the mainland.
The island’s navy highlighted its Kuang Hua VI fast attack missile boats and Tuo Chiang-class corvettes in waters near Taiwan’s largest port of Kaohsiung, a major hub for international trade considered key to resupplying Chinese forces should they establish a beachhead on the island.
The Kuang Hua VI boats, with a crew of 19, carry indigenously developed Hsiung Feng II anti-ship missiles and displayed their ability to take to the sea in an emergency to intercept enemy ships about to cross the 44-kilometer (24-nautical mile) limit of Taiwan’s contiguous zone, within which governments are permitted to take defensive action.
China routinely sends ships and planes to challenge Taiwan’s willingness and ability to counter intruders, prompting Taiwan to scramble jets, activate missile systems and dispatch warships. Taiwan demanded on Wednesday that China end its ongoing military activity in nearby waters, which it said is undermining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and disrupting international shipping and trade.
Mountainous Taiwan's strategy is to counter the much larger Chinese military with a relatively flexible defense that can prevent Chinese troops from crossing the strait. Landing sites are few on Taiwan's west coast facing China, forcing Beijing to focus on the east coast.
Hsiao Shun-ming, captain of a Tuo Chiang-class corvette, said his ship’s relatively small size still allows it to “deliver a formidable competitive power” against larger Chinese ships. The Tuo Chiang has a catamaran design and boasts high speeds and considerable stealth ability.
Taiwan has in recent years reinvigorated its domestic defense industry, although it still relies heavily on US technology such as upgraded fighter jets, missiles, tanks and detection equipment. US law requires it to consider threats to the island as matters of “grave concern,” and American and allied forces are expected to be a major factor in any conflict.
Thursday's exercise “demonstrates the effectiveness of asymmetric warfare, and Taiwan’s commitment to defense self-reliance,” said Chen Ming-feng, rear admiral and commander of the navy’s 192 Fleet specializing in mine detection. “We are always ready to respond quickly and can handle any kind of maritime situation.”
China's authoritarian one-party Communist government has refused almost all communication with Taiwan's pro-independence governments since 2016, and some in Washington and elsewhere say Beijing is growing closer to taking military action.
China considers Taiwan a part of its territory, to be brought under its control by force if necessary, while most Taiwanese favor their de facto independence and democratic status.