U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during the unveiling of the Freedom 250 Grand Prix at the White House in Washington, D.C., on July 13, 2026. (Credit: Kylie Cooper/Reuters)
U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday that Iran had released an American citizen detained since December 2024 and allowed her to leave the country.
"She is now safely outside of Iran, and in good condition," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, adding: "The United States of America appreciates this gesture of goodwill by Iran!"
Trump — who in recent days ordered a resumption of strikes on Iran and reimposed a naval blockade of its ports — did not identify the woman or explain why she had been held, saying only that she had been "wrongfully detained."
A lawyer later identified the woman as his client.
"I am beyond excited to report that my client Dena Karari, a U.S.-Iranian citizen, 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," attorney Jared Genser said in a statement.
He said Iranian authorities targeted Karari because she operated the nonprofit Children of Mehr Foundation, which helped impoverished children in Iran through private donations.
"While subject to a coercive exit ban, she was interrogated dozens of times by Iran's notorious Intelligence and Security Ministry and although never physically detained, she suffered enormous physical and psychological hardship," Genser said.
He also called on Iran to release all remaining "wrongly imprisoned Americans and those subjected to coercive exit bans and all Iranian political prisoners."
Iran is holding several Western nationals and has been accused of using them as bargaining chips in negotiations with foreign governments.
In May, Washington announced that an Iranian citizen with U.S. permanent resident status had been released after serving a 10-year prison sentence in Iran.
Washington and Tehran signed a memorandum of understanding last month aimed at ending the Middle East war, but the two sides have since resumed hostilities across the region.
