Italy’s justice minister has requested the annulment of the arrest of an Iranian man

Italy’s justice minister has requested the annulment of the arrest of an Iranian man, Mohammad Abedini Najafabadi, who is wanted by the United States for allegedly supplying materials used in an attack that killed three American soldiers, the Italian government announced on Sunday.https://wordpress.com/

Abedini, 38, was detained last month in Milan, and the U.S. Justice Department had sought his extradition, charging him with illegally providing material for a drone strike launched by an Iranian-backed militia against a U.S. military base in Jordan.

On Sunday evening, Iran’s state news agency IRNA reported that Abedini had arrived in Tehran. Italy has yet to confirm whether he was released or left the country, despite multiple requests for clarification.

The request by Italy’s Justice Ministry, filed with a court, came shortly after Iran’s release of Italian journalist Cecilia Sala. She had been detained in Iran three days after Abedini’s arrest on charges of violating Iranian laws, although the specifics were never disclosed by the Iranian government. While the Italian government did not directly link the two cases, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni mentioned last week that Sala’s release was the result of a diplomatic “triangulation” involving both the U.S. and Iran.

In a statement on Sunday, the Italian Justice Ministry said it had found no grounds for extraditing Abedini. A spokesperson for the U.S. Justice Department declined to comment.

According to IRNA, citing the judiciary’s media center, Abedini’s arrest was a misunderstanding that had been resolved through diplomatic efforts between Iran and Italy, as well as cooperation between their respective intelligence agencies.

The Italian Justice Ministry clarified that under the extradition treaty between Italy and the U.S., extradition is only possible for crimes that are punishable in both countries. It concluded that Abedini’s case did not meet this criterion. One of the charges against him, involving the illegal export of sophisticated electronic components in violation of U.S. export laws and sanctions, is not a crime in Italy, according to the ministry.

Additionally, the ministry stated that it had not received sufficient evidence to support the accusation that Abedini provided material support to a foreign terrorist organization. The ministry clarified that, based on its knowledge, Abedini was involved in producing and trading technologies with potential military applications for Iran, but not exclusively so.