By Crispian Balmer ROME (Reuters) -Italian journalist Cecilia Sala was freed by Iran on Wednesday and returned home, three weeks after she was detained in Tehran during a reporting trip. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani were on hand to greet the 29-year-old as she flew back into Rome,

Cecilia Sala, 29, was detained last month while on a reporting trip. She had been held for 20 days and told her family that she was kept in isolation.

An Italian journalist detained in Iran for three weeks was freed Wednesday and was heading home, after her fate had become intertwined with that of an Iranian engineer arrested in Italy and wanted by the United States.

An Italian journalist detained in Iran has been freed and is heading back to Italy, prime minister Giorgia Meloni has announced. A plane carrying Cecilia Sala, 29, took off from Tehran after “intensive work on diplomatic and intelligence channels”, a statement said.

After more than three weeks of detention, Cecilia Sala has been released from Tehran's Evin Prison and was met at the airport in Rome by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

Italian journalist Cecilia Sala had an emotional reunion with her boyfriend and her parents when she arrived in Italy after being released from detention in Iran. She was also welcomed back by Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni.