An Italian journalist has been under arrest in Iran for more than a week, Italy's foreign ministry has said. Cecilia Sala works for Il Foglio newspaper and for podcast company Chora Media. The foreign ministry said it was following Ms Sala's case with "utmost attention" since she was detained by Tehran police on 19 December.

Cecilia Sala, 29, was arrested on Dec. 19, but news of her detention only became public on Friday. The reason for the arrest of Ms. Sala, a well-known reporter, has not been made public.

The arrest comes as regimes increasingly resort to seizing Westerners for leverage.