ROME

A well-known Italian journalist was arrested in Iran on Dec. 19 while carrying out reporting for podcasts and articles in the country, Italy’s foreign ministry said Friday.

Cecilia Sala, 29, had been to Iran on reporting trips before and was holding a press visa for this trip, which was scheduled to end on Dec. 20. The legal grounds on which she was detained are unclear.

Sala was able to make two phone calls since she was arrested and held in the Evin jail in Tehran, the ministry said in a statement.

In coordination with the office of Italy’s prime minister Giorgia Meloni, the country’s diplomats have been working to clarify Sala’s legal position and the conditions of her imprisonment.

On Friday, Italy’s ambassador to Iran Paola Amadei paid Sala a visit in jail. Her family was informed of the findings of the ambassador’s visit.

Sala’s last Intagram post before her arrest, which was published on Dec. 18, talks about an interview she carried out with an Iranian stand-up comedian, who had been recently arrested, which featured on a podcast made for Italian company Chora Media.

Her parents and the foreign ministry requested the press to treat her detention with utmost discretion to facilitate a quick and positive outcome of the matter.