Iran confirms arrest of Italian journalist Cecilia Sala

DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran confirmed the arrest of Italian journalist Cecilia Sala for "violating the laws of the Islamic Republic", Iran's official IRNA news agency reported on Monday.

Sala, 29, who works for the newspaper Il Foglio and the podcast company Chora Media, was detained in Tehran on Dec. 19, according to the Italian foreign ministry.

Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani on Saturday declined to say whether the case might be linked to the arrest of an Iranian in Italy this month at the request of the United Sttates.

The case of the Italian journalist being held in Iran is "complicated", but Rome hopes to bring Sala home quickly, Tajani said.

"Italian national Cecilia Sala traveled to Iran on Dec. 13 with a journalist visa and was detained on Dec. 19... for violating the laws of the Islamic Republic," a statement by Iran's Culture Ministry said, according to IRNA.

Chora Media said Sala had left Rome for Iran on Dec. 12 with a valid journalist visa and had conducted several interviews and produced three episodes of her "Stories" podcast. She had been due to fly back to Rome on Dec. 20.

Sala has been in contact by phone with her family and the Italian embassy in Tehran was notified of her detention, the statement said.

In recent years, Iran's security forces have arrested dozens of foreigners and dual nationals, mostly on charges related to espionage and security.

Rights groups have accused Iran of trying to extract concessions from other countries through such arrests. Iran denies taking prisoners to gain diplomatic leverage.

(Reporting by Parisa Hafezi and Elwely Elwelly; Editing by Kevin Liffey and Louise Heavens)