Journalist released in Iran ‘expected to be held longer’ and praises Musk role

Cecilia Sala was greeted by the Italian premier upon returning home (Filippo Attili, Italian Government Office via Ap )

An Italian journalist who was detained in Iran has said she assumed she would have been held much longer, and said her boyfriend’s contact with Elon Musk might have been “fundamental” to her release.

In her first televised interview since her release on January 8, Cecilia Sala referred to the three-nation negotiation that resulted in her freedom after 21 days in detention.