The story: Italian journalist Cecilia Sala has returned to Rome after three weeks in Iranian custody. Having been detained in Tehran shortly after the arrest of an Iranian engineer in Milan upon a US warrant, observers speculate that a tit-for-tat operation is at play. The freeing of Sala could therefore indicate a possible prisoner swap. It also suggests that Iran seeks to resolve the matter before US President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House later this month.

The coverage: The office of Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said in a Jan. 8 statement that Sala had been freed “thanks to intense...