A plane carrying Cecilia Sala, 29, landed at Rome’s Ciampino airport, where Premier Giorgia Meloni was on hand to welcome her alongside Sala's family.

Cecilia Sala, 29, who was detained last month while on a reporting trip, was on a plane home, the Italian government announced.

Italian journalist Cecilia Sala, detained in Iran for three weeks, was freed on Wednesday and is on her way back to Italy.

Italian journalist Cecilia Sala was on a plane home Wednesday after being freed from an Iranian prison, the result of tireless diplomatic lobbying behind the scenes, the Italian government said.

Italian journalist Cecilia Sala, freed after three weeks in Iranian detention, returned to Rome, and greeted by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. Her release, tied to a US-wanted Iranian engineer, marked a major political win for Meloni.

The case of the prominent Italian journalist detained in Iran is a test for Italy’s government as it gets caught up in Iran’s shadow war with the U.S.

Word of Sala’s release is met with cheers in Italy, where her plight had dominated headlines, as lawmakers hail the successful negotiations to bring

Italian journalist Cecilia Sala was freed from an Iranian prison Wednesday and was flying home, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s office said. Her release came three weeks after she was detained in Tehran while working on a journalist visa. Iran had accused Sala of “violating the law of the Islamic Republic of Iran.”