Italy’s justice minister has called for the reversal of the arrest of an Iranian wanted by the United States for allegedly supplying material used in a drone attack that killed three American soldiers, the Italian government announced Sunday.
Mohammad Abedini Najafabadi, 38, was arrested last month in Milan and the US Department of Justice had requested his extradition. He was accused of illegally supplying material used in an attack by an Iranian-backed militia on a US military base in Jordan.
On Sunday evening, IRNA, Iran’s state news agency, reported that Mr. Abedini had reached Tehran. Despite repeated requests for confirmation, Italy has not yet announced that it has freed the man or that he has left the country.
The Italian ministry’s request, which was filed in court, came just days after Iran released an Italian journalist, Cecilia Sala, who had been arrested in Iran three days after Mr Abedini’s detention. She was arrested on charges of violating the laws of the Islamic Republic, although the Iranian government never provided details.
Although the Italian government never confirmed any link between the two cases, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said last week that Ms. Sala’s release was the result of diplomatic “triangulation” with the United States and Iran .
On Sunday, Italy’s Justice Ministry said it did not have grounds to extradite Mr. Abedini. A spokesperson for the US Department of Justice declined to comment.
IRNA, citing the judiciary’s media center, reported Sunday that Abedini’s arrest was a misunderstanding that was resolved with diplomacy between Iran and Italy and cooperation between Iranian and Italian intelligence services.
In Sunday’s government statement, Italy’s Justice Ministry said that under the extradition treaty between Italy and the United States, a person can only be extradited for crimes punished in both countries. Mr Abedini’s case, they said, did not meet the criteria.
One of the crimes he is accused of – conspiring to export sophisticated electronic components in violation of US export control and sanctions laws – is not punishable in Italy, the ministry said.
The Italian Justice Ministry also said it had received no evidence to justify another accusation made against Abedini: that of providing material support to a foreign terrorist organization. The Justice Ministry said it knew only that Abedini produced and traded with Iran technologies that had potential, but not exclusive, military use.
Leily Nikounazar contributed a report from Brussels, e Devlin Barrett from Washington.