Italian journalist Cecilia Sala has arrived back in the country’s capital after being freed from an Iranian prison where she had spent weeks in detention.

Cecilia Sala, 29, was arrested on 19 December, three days after an Iranian engineer was detained by Italian authorities in Milan on suspicion of supplying drone technology that led to the deaths of US soldiers. Reports said she had been held in solitary confinement in Tehran's notorious Evin prison.

Word of Sala’s release is met with cheers in Italy, where her plight had dominated headlines, as lawmakers hail the successful negotiations to bring

Italian journalist Cecilia Sala, who was detained in Iran nearly three weeks ago, has been released by Iranian authorities and was on a plane back to Italy on Wednesday, according to the government in Rome.

Italian journalist Cecilia Sala has been freed from an Iranian prison and is on a plane home, a spokesperson for the Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said Wednesday.

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

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.

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.