Iran confirms arresting Italian journalist Cecilia Sala

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran’s state media say an Italian journalist has been arrested on charges of violating the Islamic Republic’s laws. The state-run IRNA news agency reported Monday that the Ministry of Culture and Islamic Guidance, which oversees media activity, said in a statement that Cecilia Sala traveled to Iran on Dec. 13 on a journalist visa and was arrested six days later. Sala is a reporter for the Italian daily Il Foglio. It says she is being held in Tehran’s Evin prison. Since the 1979 U.S. Embassy crisis, which saw dozens of hostages released after 444 days in captivity, Iran has used prisoners with Western ties as bargaining chips.