Lawyer confirms Dena Karari safe, credits Trump’s ‘relentless efforts’
President Donald Trump said Wednesday that Iran had released an American citizen who had been detained since December 2024, describing the move as a gesture of goodwill. In a post on social media, Trump wrote that the woman — later identified as Dena Karari, a dual US-Iranian citizen — was “now safely outside of Iran, and in good condition.”
“The United States of America appreciates this gesture of Goodwill by Iran!” Trump wrote.
Karari’s lawyer, Jared Genser, confirmed her release on social media, saying he was “excited to report” that Karari, who had been banned from leaving Iran after visiting her family in 2024, “is now safe and traveling back to the United States.” Genser added that her release “would not have happened but for the extraordinary and relentless efforts” of the president.
According to a New York Times report published last year, Karari works for an American technological company and runs a charity for underprivileged children in Iran. After the US joined Israel in bombing Iran in 2025, she was charged with espionage.
Trump’s announcement came as the United States launched fresh strikes on Iran. Genser, a human rights lawyer known as “the extractor,” has freed over 340 prisoners of conscience from 20 countries over the past two decades, according to a 2023 Guardian profile.