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Italian journalist Cecilia Sala freed from Iran with Elon Musk’s help, reports claim
Tesla and X owner Elon Musk played a key role in securing the release of Cecilia Sala, the Italian journalist who was arrested in Iran last month, according to reports.
Musk used a personal connection to Iran’s ambassador to the UN to facilitate the release of Sala, 29, who was arrested last month while reporting in Tehran and held in solitary confinement in Evin prison, the New York Times (NYT) reported on Thursday.
Just four days after Sala’s release, Italy released an Iranian citizen who had been detained in Milan last month on a US extradition request. Mohammad Abedini, a businessman and engineer, is wanted by the US over accusations of having procured drone technology for Iran for an attack in Jordan that killed three Americans a year ago.
The fact that Abedini’s release followed Sala’s freedom so swiftly led many observers to believe that a prisoner exchange was carried out between the two countries.
A member of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards and the two Iranian officials told the NYT that Sala had been arrested in a calculated move to pressure Italy for Abedini’s release.
Musk helped secure Sala’s release by contacting Amir Saeid Iravani — Iran’s ambassador to the UN — with whom he had held a secret meeting in November, two Iranian officials told the NYT on condition of anonymity.
The two Iranian officials told the NYT that when Musk spoke with the ambassador, he requested that Iran release Sala and reassured him that the US would not pressure Italy to extradite Abedini, the Iranian engineer.
The tech mogul reportedly decided to intervene after receiving a message at the end of December from Sala’s boyfriend, Daniele Raineri, through an intermediary.
Raineri told the NYT he had thought of Musk because he had read that the billionaire had a channel of communication with Iranian diplomats, and because he works closely with US President-elect Donald Trump.
Musk helped to set up a meeting between Trump and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence on 4 January. Four days later, Sala was freed.
Meloni said last week that the journalist’s release was the result of a “complex work of diplomatic triangulation with Iran, and obviously also with the United States of America”. She told a news conference she did not know what role Musk had played in the release.
Biden administration officials said they had not been involved in the negotiations, and disapproved of the agreement.
A major fire outbreak on Saturday gutted a four-bedroom apartment converted into a tailoring workshop in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.
The incident occurred in the early hours at Benjamin, Alabama Junction in the Eleyele axis of Ido Local Government Area, leaving equipment and valuables worth millions of naira destroyed.
Confirming the incident, the Chairman of the Oyo State Fire Service, Maroof Akinwande, said operatives of the agency were swiftly deployed to the scene after receiving a distress call.
“The fire emergency was reported at exactly 4:15 a.m. on Saturday, 20th September, 2025. Once the address was verified, our team, led by ACFS Bamidele Samsudeen, promptly mobilised to the scene,” Akinwande explained.
He urged residents to always give accurate information and report fire emergencies without delay, stressing that quick response is critical to minimizing losses during such incidents.
Two terrorists have been killed by troops of the Joint Task Force North West, Operation FANSAN YANMA, during an ambush in Kachia Local Government Area of Kaduna State.
Security analyst Zagazola Makama shared the information on X on Sunday, saying the troops acted on credible intelligence about the movement of the attackers.
According to the Makama, the soldiers from Sub-Sector 5 set up an ambush along the Wake–Kabode–Abrum axis after learning that terrorists were heading from Gabachua high ground towards Insami and Kabode for a planned kidnapping.
“The ambush, which took place around 7:00 a.m., led to the killing of two terrorists,” Makama wrote.
Troops recovered two AK-47 rifles, two extra magazines, a mobile phone, and a motorcycle, which was destroyed at the scene.
A notorious bandit leader, Kachalla Ummaru, has warned that government military operations targeting bandits could exacerbate insecurity, asserting that any attempt to kill 10 bandits would lead to 20 more emerging in retaliation, while killing 30 could trigger further unrest in cities and villages.
Ummaru made the remarks on Saturday during a peace dialogue between bandit groups and community leaders in Matazu Local Government Area of Katsina State.
He urged security operatives to exercise restraint, emphasizing that the dialogue process would only succeed if all parties approached it in good faith.
The meeting, convened to foster peace and reconciliation, comes amid renewed efforts by stakeholders to curb banditry across Katsina and neighbouring states.
Community elders attending the dialogue also called on both bandit groups and security agencies to commit to genuine peace to ensure the safety and well-being of residents.
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