President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that Dena Karari, an American citizen held in Iran since 2024, has been released.
“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,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Tuesday evening.
“The United States of America appreciates this gesture of Goodwill by Iran!” he added.
Human rights lawyer Jared Genser, who has been nicknamed “The Extractor” for his work on behalf of political prisoners around the world, identified the freed detainee as one of his clients, 53-year-old Dena Karari.
“This would not have happened but for the extraordinary and relentless efforts of President Donald Trump,” he said. “Dena is now safe and traveling back to the United States.”
Genser said Karari is a dual U.S.-Iranian citizen who works in the U.S. tech industry. She also ran a charity called the Children of Mehr Foundation, a U.S.-registered nonprofit that raises money for impoverished children in Iran.
Genser told CNN on Thursday that Karari was trying to return home after visiting family in Shiraz, Iran, when both her American and Iranian passports were inexplicably seized at the airport. He believes she was targeted for her work with the Children of Mehr Foundation, which the regime in Tehran evidently viewed as a subversive organization.
Karari was slapped with a “coercive exit ban” and was hauled in for interrogation dozens of times over the ensuing year and a half, due to vague allegations of espionage, but she was never formally charged, tried, or imprisoned. Genser said Karari “suffered enormous physical and psychological hardship” during these interrogations.
In April 2025, the coercive exit ban expired “for reasons we don’t entirely understand,” but she was still prevented from leaving Iran.
After Iran signed its Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the United States to suspend hostilities in June, Genser redoubled his efforts to secure her release, and he said the Trump administration was very responsive to his entreaties.
“They were doing everything they can and pushing from every direction they could,” he said.
Kariri reportedly suffered a heart attack on July 8, adding to the urgency of her case. Genser said it was nevertheless a “minor miracle” that she was released during active hostilities between the U.S. and Iran.
Neither President Trump nor Genser indicated whether Iran was offered any inducements for releasing Karari, such as a reciprocal prisoner swap.
In a social media post later on Wednesday, Genser expressed his gratitude to Elizabeth Richards, director of hostage advocacy at the James Foley Legacy Foundation – named after journalist James Foley, who was kidnapped from Syria in 2012 and murdered by the Islamic State in 2014. He also thanked Foley’s mother Diane, who became a leading human rights advocate in the years after his death.
“In moments of celebration, it is crucial to remember that every victory is a team effort and countless people known and unknown work relentlessly to make it happen.,” Genser said.
“Liz has led efforts at Foley to advocate for the release of American citizen prisoners and hostages (among other cases), and without any expectations of thanks or recognition, she has been a stalwart friend and partner to Dena and our team every step of the way,” he said. “Without her, I’m sure, today would not have come.”
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