American citizen leaves Iran after exit ban

An American citizen barred from leaving Iran since December 2024 has left the country and is traveling back to the United States, President Donald Trump and her lawyer said Wednesday.

Trump announced the release on Truth Social but did not identify the woman. “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,” he wrote. “She is now safely outside of Iran, and in good condition. The United States of America appreciates this gesture of Goodwill by Iran!”

Her lawyer, Jared Genser, identified her as Dena Karari, a dual U.S.-Iranian citizen. Genser said on X that Karari “had been trapped in #Iran since December 2024 on bogus charges” and “is now free.” He added: “This would not have happened but for the extraordinary and relentless efforts of President @realDonaldTrump. Dena is now safe and traveling back to the United States.”

Genser said in a separate release that Karari had been under what he called a “coercive exit ban,” but was “never physically detained.” He said she had been “interrogated dozens of times” by Iran’s Intelligence Ministry over her work with the Children of Mehr Foundation, a nonprofit that he said helped impoverished children in Iran using private donor support and authorization from a license issued by the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control.

CBS News reported that Karari had been trapped in Iran on allegations of espionage and collaborating with a hostile state, but was never formally charged. The outlet also reported, citing two sources, that she suffered a heart attack on July 8. Although her exit ban expired in April, Iranian authorities did not allow her to leave at that time, CBS News reported.

The Guardian reported that Karari had been banned from leaving Iran after visiting family in 2024. It also cited a New York Times report from last year describing an Iranian American woman who had been imprisoned and prevented from leaving the country in December 2024, then released from custody, and who “works for an American technological company and runs a charity for underprivileged children in Iran.” The Guardian reported that after the United States joined Israel in bombing Iran in 2025, she was charged with espionage.

Trump’s announcement came as tensions between Washington and Tehran remained high. NBC News reported that Trump has increased pressure on Iran in recent days and signed off on several new rounds of U.S. strikes. The Guardian said the announcement came as the United States launched fresh strikes on Iran. CBS News reported that a memorandum of understanding signed by the United States and Iran last month extended a ceasefire for 60 days, but did not include the release of detained Americans, and that fighting between the two sides had resumed over the last week.

The State Department declined to comment, CBS News reported. CBS also reported, citing two sources, that Karari’s name was on a list of Americans the State Department had given to U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff, who is helping lead U.S.-Iran diplomacy, to press for her release.

Other Americans remain held in Iran. NBC News reported that as many as five other Americans are currently being held there, including Reza Valizadeh and Kamran Hekmati, both of whom have been publicly designated by the State Department as wrongfully detained. CBS News reported that several Americans are imprisoned in Iran and that Valizadeh, an Iranian American journalist, was heard last month in a recording from Tehran’s Evin Prison pleading for his release.

Genser urged Iran to drop charges against Iranians who worked locally for the Children of Mehr Foundation.