President Trump Secures RELEASE of American Woman Held for Over a Year in Iran

This is great news!

The U.S. has just secured the release of an American woman who was wrongfully detained in Iran for the past year and a half.

In a post on Truth Social, President Trump called it a “gesture of Goodwill by Iran.”

Read his announcement here:

Full text:

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. She is now safely outside of Iran, and in good condition. The United States of America appreciates this gesture of Goodwill by Iran! President DONALD J. TRUMP

The woman’s identity has been revealed as Iranian-American citizen Dena Karari.

Reportedly, she was accused of espionage related to her work in Iran with a U.S. nonprofit organization that helps impoverished children.

In an X post, Karari’s lawyer Jared Genser called the charges against her “bogus” and confirmed that she is finally being released thanks to President Trump:

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. This would not have happened but for the extraordinary and relentless efforts of President @realDonaldTrump. Dena is now…

— Jared Genser (@JaredGenser) July 15, 2026

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. 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.

Fox News shared a statement from Gesner, detailing the circumstances of Karari’s arrest further:

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.

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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.”

This marks the first time an American held in custody by Iran has been released since a major prisoner swap back in 2023.

There are multiple other U.S. citizens that are currently being wrongfully detained in Iran.

CBS News noted:

Several Americans are imprisoned in Iran, two of whom have been legally designated as wrongfully detained: Kamran Hekmati and Reza Valizadeh. The State Department can label U.S. nationals as “wrongfully detained” based on multiple criteria, including credible evidence of their innocence or reports that they are being held to extract concessions from the U.S. government.

Last month, CBS News obtained a recording of Valizadeh, an Iranian American journalist, pleading for his release from inside Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison.

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The release of detained Americans was not part of the memorandum of understanding signed by the U.S. and Iran last month, which extended the two countries’ ceasefire for 60 days. Fighting between the two sides has resumed over the last week.