President Trump says Iran releases American citizen identified as Dena Karari

President Donald Trump said Tuesday that Iran has released an American woman who he said was “wrongfully detained” in the country for the past year and a half.

She was identified as Iranian-American citizen Dena Karari by her attorney Jared Genser, who confirmed her release to Fox News. She was reportedly accused of espionage over her work with an American nonprofit helping impoverished children.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the woman was detained in December 2024, during the Biden administration and was recently allowed to leave Iran. 

“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.

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Karari is reportedly now safely outside Iran and in good condition following her release, according to Trump.

Her release marks the first time an American has been freed from Iranian custody since 2023, and represents a notable development amid ongoing military confrontations between Washington and Tehran.

Following her release, Trump thanked Iran for what he described as a “gesture of goodwill.”

“The United States of America appreciates this gesture of Goodwill by Iran!” he wrote.

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Gesner released a statement shortly after Trump’s announcement, saying she had been “trapped in Iran on bogus charges of collaboration with a hostile state and espionage” but is now on her way back to the United States.

According to Genser, Karari was targeted after Iranian authorities linked her to the Children of Mehr Foundation, a U.S.-registered nonprofit that provides books, literacy programs and other humanitarian assistance to impoverished children in rural Iran.

Under the regime, affiliations with U.S.-based organizations operating inside Iran are often viewed with heightened suspicion and can lead to accusations of security-related offenses.

Genser clarified that Karari was never formally imprisoned but was effectively held in Iran through a “coercive exit ban.” She was reportedly interrogated dozens of times by Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) and “suffered enormous physical and psychological hardship.”

“We urge Iran to drop all the remaining charges against those who worked locally in support of the Children of Mehr Foundation, who are innocent and committed no crimes,” Genser said. “And I personally call on Iran to release both all wrongly imprisoned Americans and those subjected to coercive exit bans and all Iranian political prisoners.”

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Sources previously told Fox News Digital in January 2026 that Iran may have been holding more than eight American citizens and residents in custody, exceeding publicly available data that listed five American hostages in Iran.

Two of the current hostages include Kamran Hekmati, a 61-year-old Jewish man held since May 2025, and Reza Valizadeh, a 49-year-old journalist and dual Iranian-American national held since March 2024.

A U.S. State Department official previously told Fox News Digital that “President Trump is working to secure the release of detained Americans around the world.”

“The Iranian regime has a long history of unjustly and wrongfully detaining other countries’ citizens as hostages for use as political leverage. Iran should release these individuals immediately,” the official said.

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According to United Against Nuclear Iran, Tehran detains foreign nationals on vague charges and uses them as “bargaining chips” to extract concessions from other countries, such as securing the release of frozen financial assets locked up by international sanctions.

Iran has frequently targeted individuals who hold both American and Iranian citizenship, as Tehran does not recognize dual nationality and often treats dual citizens solely as Iranian nationals, limiting their access to U.S. consular assistance, United Against Nuclear Iran said.

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During the most recent major prisoner exchange in September 2023, the U.S. secured the release of five Americans who had been detained in Iran for years. In exchange, the U.S. approved the transfer of $6 billion in frozen funds.

Fox News’ Benjamin Weinthal contributed to this report.