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US President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that an American citizen detained in Iran since December 2024 has been released and is now safely outside the country.
Posting on his Truth Social platform, Trump said, “She is now safely outside of Iran, and in good condition. The United States of America appreciates this gesture of Goodwill by Iran! He referred to the woman as “wrongfully detained” but did not provide her name or specific details about the charges.
Later on Wednesday, attorney Jared Genser identified the released individual as his client, Dena Karari, a US-Iranian citizen.
“I am beyond excited to report that my client Dena Karari, who has been trapped in Iran on bogus charges of collaboration with a hostile state and espionage, is now safely out of Iran and on her way back to the United States,” Genser said in a statement.
Karari’s legal representative explained that the Iranian authorities targeted her because of her work with the Children of Mehr Foundation, a non-profit organisation providing aid to impoverished children in Iran through private donations.
“While subject to a coercive exit ban, she was interrogated dozens of times by Iran’s notorious Ministry of Intelligence and Security and although never physically detained, she suffered enormous physical and psychological hardship,” Genser added. He also called for Iran to release all remaining “wrongly imprisoned Americans and those subjected to coercive exit bans and all Iranian political prisoners.”
The release comes amid heightened tensions between Washington and Tehran. Trump recently ordered a resumption of strikes against Iran and reinstated a naval blockade of Iranian ports.
Despite a memorandum of understanding signed last month aimed at ending Middle East conflicts, hostilities have continued to flare across the region.
Iran is reported to hold several Western nationals, often viewed as bargaining tools in diplomatic negotiations. In May, Washington confirmed the release of an Iranian citizen with US permanent residency after serving a 10-year sentence in Iran.
