Iran releases wrongfully detained U.S. citizen, Trump says

• President Donald Trump said Iran released a U.S. citizen wrongfully detained since December 2024 as a “gesture of goodwill.”
• Lawyer Jared Genser identified the woman as Dena Karari, a U.S.-Iranian citizen who ran the Children of Mehr Foundation.
• Karari was detained by Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security while visiting family and suffered “enormous physical and psychological hardship,” Genser said.
• The release came as the U.S. military struck Iranian targets for a fifth straight day and Iran hit U.S. targets in Jordan, Bahrain, and Kuwait.

Freed U.S. citizen identified as Dena Karari

President Donald Trump said Wednesday evening that Iran has freed a U.S. citizen who had been detained in the country since December 2024, calling the move a “gesture of goodwill” amid heightened military tensions between Washington and Tehran.

In a social media post, Trump said Iran wrongfully detained the woman in December 2024. “She is now safely outside of Iran, and in good condition,” Trump wrote. He did not identify the woman but said the United States appreciated the gesture.

Lawyer Jared Genser said in a social media post that the woman is Dena Karari, a client of his trapped in Iran on “bogus charges.” Genser said Karari is safe and traveling back to the United States. He said her freedom would not have happened without “extraordinary and relentless efforts” by Trump.

In a further statement reported by ABC News, Genser said Karari is a U.S.-Iranian citizen who ran a nonprofit called the Children of Mehr Foundation. The foundation’s Instagram page says it works to empower children “through education, creativity and opportunity.”

Genser said Karari was visiting her family when she was detained and interrogated by Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security, suffering “enormous physical and psychological hardship.”

The release came on the same day the U.S. military struck Iranian targets for the fifth straight day. Iran had hit several U.S. military targets Tuesday in Jordan, Bahrain, and Kuwait, according to earlier reports.