The Italian justice minister has filed a request to revoke the arrest of an Iranian businessman detained in Milan who was wanted by the United States on suspicion of involvement in a drone strike against its forces, the justice ministry said on Sunday.
Mohammad Abedini was arrested in Milan last month on a US warrant for allegedly supplying drone parts that Washington says were used in a 2024 attack that killed three US service members in Jordan.
"Minister (Carlo) Nordio filed a request with the Milan Court of Appeal to revoke the arrest of Iranian citizen Abedininajafabadi Mohammad," a justice ministry statement said, Reuters reported.
Under Italian law, courts must abide by the minister's request.
In his statement, Nordio wrote that legal conditions were not in place to extradite Abedini as that could only be done for offences punishable both in Italy and in the United States.
The statement said violations of the International Economic Emergency Powers Act (IEEPA) did not correspond to conduct recognizable as a crime under Italian law. It added there was no evidence corroborating the other charges of supporting a terrorist organization.
Earlier this week, Nordio said the US had not yet submitted a formal request to extradite Abedini.
