United States President Donald Trump announced that Iran has released an American citizen who had been held in the country since December 2024. In a post on his Truth Social platform, the President confirmed that the individual is currently safely outside of Iran and in good condition, characterizing the release as a gesture of goodwill from Tehran.
While President Trump did not identify the woman or provide specific reasons for her detention beyond describing it as a wrongful imprisonment, her lawyer, Jared Genser, provided further details in a statement released late Wednesday. Genser identified his client as Dena Karari, a US-Iranian citizen who had been trapped in Iran while facing what he described as bogus charges of espionage and collaboration with a hostile state.
According to Genser, Karari’s legal troubles stemmed from her leadership of the Children of Mehr Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting impoverished children in Iran through private donations. Following her release, Genser expressed his excitement that his client is safely on her way back to the United States.
The attorney also utilized the opportunity to call upon Iranian authorities to release all other Americans currently held in the country. He further urged the government to end the use of coercive exit bans and to release all remaining Iranian political prisoners.
