President Donald Trump Says American Woman Detained in Iran Since December 2024 Has Been Freed, Calls Her Release a Goodwill Gesture by Tehran
President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that an American citizen who had been wrongfully detained in Iran since December 2024 has been released and is now safely outside the country.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the woman is in good condition and credited Iran for allowing her to leave. He described the decision as a gesture of goodwill and expressed appreciation for Tehran's cooperation.
“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!” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
The president did not provide additional details about the circumstances surrounding her release.
Attorney Jared Genser later identified the released American as his client, Dena Karari.
“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,” Genser wrote on X on Wednesday. “This would not have happened but for the extraordinary and relentless efforts of President Donald Trump. Dena is now safe and traveling back to the United States.”
On June 24, Secretary of State Marco Rubio addressed a question regarding Americans detained in Iran, emphasizing that the U.S. government remains committed to securing the release of citizens who are wrongfully held abroad.
“We’re always concerned about wrongfully detained Americans everywhere in the world,” Rubio said. “That’s always an issue we’ll raise in every forum that it becomes available. But I don’t want to discuss any specific cases. It complicates them. And that’s not just true with Iran; that’s true in other parts of the world as well.”
Rubio noted that the State Department maintains a dedicated office focused on helping secure the release of U.S. citizens detained in foreign countries.
“We raise it in every forum and in every opportunity we get, and we make it our highest priority,” Rubio said. “And this president, by the way, has a record of getting Americans released that’s unparalleled, the number of Americans that we’ve gotten released from around the world as a result of the efforts of the SPEHA Office as it’s called and, of course, of the president. So we’ll always prioritize wrongfully detained Americans everywhere in the world.”
