Trump: Iran Freed US-Iranian Citizen in 'Goodwill Gesture'
US President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that Iran has released an American citizen who was detained since December 2024 and allowed her to leave the country. Trump described the release as a 'gesture of Goodwill' by Iran, in a post on his Truth Social platform.
'She is now safely outside of Iran, and in good condition,' Trump wrote. He did not name the woman or specify the reasons for her detention, other than stating she had been 'wrongfully detained.'
Attorney Jared Genser later confirmed that the released individual is his client, Dena Karari, a US-Iranian citizen. Genser said Karari had been 'trapped in Iran on bogus charges of collaboration with a hostile state and espionage' and is now safely out of Iran and on her way back to the United States.
According to Genser, Iranian authorities targeted Karari because of her work as the founder of the non-profit Children of Mehr Foundation, which provided 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,' Genser said. He added that although she was never physically detained, she suffered 'enormous physical and psychological hardship.'
Genser called on Iran to release all remaining 'wrongly imprisoned Americans and those subjected to coercive exit bans and all Iranian political prisoners.' Several Western nationals are currently held in Iran, and there have been accusations that the country uses them as bargaining chips in international negotiations.
The announcement comes amid renewed hostilities between the United States and Iran. Trump recently ordered a resumption of strikes against Iran and reimposed a naval blockade of its ports. In May, Washington announced the release of an Iranian citizen with US permanent residence status who had served a 10-year prison sentence in Iran. The two nations signed a memorandum of understanding last month aimed at ending the Middle East war, but fighting has since resumed across the region.
