President Donald Trump announced Wednesday evening that Iran had allowed an American citizen trapped inside the country since 2024 to leave, calling the unexpected release a “gesture of goodwill” amid a rapidly escalating military confrontation.
“Iran has allowed an American Citizen, who was wrongfully detained in December of 2024 under the ‘presidency’ of Sleepy Joe Biden, to leave the Country,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
“She is now safely outside of Iran, and in good condition,” the president added. “The United States of America appreciates this gesture of Goodwill by Iran!”
The woman was identified by her attorney as Dena Karari, a dual U.S.-Iranian citizen who traveled to Iran to visit family in December 2024 and was subsequently blocked from leaving.
International human rights attorney Jared Genser said Karari had faced “bogus charges” involving allegations of espionage and collaboration with a hostile country.
“I am delighted and excited to report that my client U.S. citizen #DenaKarari, who had been trapped in #Iran since December 2024 on bogus charges, is now free,” Genser wrote on X.
“This would not have happened but for the extraordinary and relentless efforts of President @realDonaldTrump,” he added.
Genser said Karari was safe and traveling back to the United States.
Although Trump described Karari as having been wrongfully detained, CBS News reported that she was placed under an exit ban rather than held continuously in prison. Iranian authorities confiscated her American and Iranian passports and subjected her to repeated interrogations, but she was never formally charged, according to the outlet.
The Wall Street Journal similarly reported that Karari spent roughly a year and a half unable to leave Iran after authorities accused her of espionage and collaborating with a hostile power.
Karari reportedly worked for an American technology company and operated a charity helping underprivileged children in Iran.
Her freedom offers a rare diplomatic bright spot as Washington and Tehran trade military strikes and threats over the Strait of Hormuz.
Karari’s release came as the Trump administration weighed options for expanding its military campaign against Iran. U.S. forces also launched additional daytime strikes against Iranian military targets near the strategically vital waterway.
The United States has expanded its strikes deeper into Iran while trying to break Tehran’s grip on the strait, one of the world’s most important energy corridors. Iran, meanwhile, has launched retaliatory missiles and drones at targets elsewhere in the region.
Against that backdrop, Tehran’s decision to release Karari could be an isolated concession—or a signal that Iran is searching for a way to lower the temperature.
The administration has made securing the return of Americans detained abroad a major priority. The State Department says 76 Americans held as hostages, wrongful detainees or under other concerning circumstances have returned home since Trump took office in January 2025.
Earlier this year, the department formally designated Iran a “State Sponsor of Wrongful Detention,” accusing the regime of seizing innocent Americans and using them as political leverage.
