Dena Karari, an Iranian-American dual citizen who had been subjected to security restrictions and a travel ban in Iran since December 2024, has left the country after approximately 19 months. Her release was first announced by US President Donald Trump, and her identity was confirmed hours later by her attorney.
Writing on his social media platform, Truth Social, Trump stated that Iran had permitted the departure of an American citizen who had been “wrongfully” detained. Without naming the individual, he referred to Iran’s action as a “gesture of goodwill.” Shortly thereafter, Jared Genser, a Washington-based human rights lawyer, announced that the released individual was Dena Karari and that she was en route back to the United States.
Karari, a 53-year-old resident of California, had travelled to Shiraz to visit family when her passport was confiscated by Islamic Republic authorities, depriving her of the ability to leave the country. According to her attorney, she was never formally imprisoned, but she was subjected to intense and repeated interrogations by security agencies and placed under highly restrictive conditions over the past several months.
Genser stated that security officials had accused Karari of “cooperating with a hostile state” and “espionage,” charges that both she and her legal counsel have rejected as entirely baseless. International media outlets have reported that the dual citizen worked for an American technology firm while also managing a charitable organisation supporting underprivileged children in Iran, an activity her associates believe drew the hostile attention of Iran’s intelligence services.
