His Foreign Ministry Iran confirmed tonight that the Iranian engineer Mohammad Abedini who had been arrested in Italy at the request of the US, he was released and will return to Tehran “within the next few hours”.

Abtenini, 38, was arrested on a US warrant accusing him of providing military technology to Iran.

Earlier today, Italian Justice Minister Carlo Nordio asked the Court of Appeal in Milan to release the Iranian, days after Tehran freed an Italian journalist who had been arrested in Iran.

“The problem has been resolved and led to his release and return,” following “negotiations” between Iran’s and Italy’s intelligence agencies, reported Iran’s Mizan Online news agency, the press organ of the country’s judicial authorities.

The US accuses Abedini of supplying Iran’s military with advanced drone navigation technology, in violation of US sanctions. This technology was used in the drone attack on a Jordanian military base near the Syrian border that killed three American soldiers.

Iran denied the accusations and called his arrest by the Italian authorities “illegal”.