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

Iran released Italian journalist Cecilia Sala, whose arrest in Tehran last month had sparked fears of a lengthy hostage crisis – a win for Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni that however highlights Western countries’ vulnerability to blackmail by authoritarian regimes.

STORY: An Italian journalist who was detained in Iran for three weeks returned home on Wednesday. Cecilia Sala was greeted at the airport in Rome by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.Sala is a writer and podcaster who had been working with a regular journalist visa in Tehran,

Iran wsa believed to have held Sala as a bargaining chip after an Iranian businessman was arrested in Italy on a U.S. warrant.

The Italian journalist returned to Rome on Wednesday after weeks of diplomatic wrangling between Italy and Iran.

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.

A plane carrying the 29-year-old landed at Rome’s Ciampino airport on Wednesday. Her overjoyed parents and partner were on hand to welcome her back, as were the prime minister, the foreign minister, and the mayor of Rome.