Dual Iranian-American Citizen Returned to U.S. Soil, After Being Detained by Iran's Regime for Two Years

On Thursday, President Donald Trump announced on Truth Social that he had secured the release of an Iranian woman and American citizen. While Trump did not mention the woman's name in the post, since 2024, she had been detained by the Iranian regime on charges of espionage.

As RedState reported:

"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."

Of course, according to the Jerusalem Post, Iran's leadership denied that any such American citizen detained by them had been released, essentially alleging that Trump was lying.

Iran's judiciary said that no American prisoner had been released or exchanged from its prisons, Iranian state media reported on Thursday, after US President Donald Trump said a US citizen detained during the Biden administration in 2024 had been freed.
The judiciary said checks showed no convicted American prisoner, person accused of spying for the United States matching Trump's description, or any other American detainee had been released from Iranian prisons or exchanged.

But on Sunday, the woman in question, Dena Karari, landed on U.S. soil.

Welcome home #DenaKarari from #Iran to the land of the free and the home of the brave 🇺🇸 — after 566 days wrongly detained by the Iranian regime. THANK YOU to all who made this day possible, known and unknown. We must now redouble our efforts to get all the other Americans out! pic.twitter.com/g0huxfhZN3
— Jared Genser (@JaredGenser) July 19, 2026

An American woman wrongfully detained in Iran for a year and a half on spying charges has now landed back in the US, her attorney announced.
Dena Karari, who was locked up by the Iranian regime for 566 days and charged with espionage, wore an American flag around her shoulders as she arrived in San Francisco, according to a photo shared by her human rights lawyer on Saturday.

Karari's human rights attorney, Jared Genser, announced her return and profusely thanked President Trump for his efforts in ensuring Karari was released and made it back safely to the U.S.

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.

New: Has Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei Fled Iran?

Karari has dual Iranian-American citizenship and runs a technology company as well as a children's charity in Iran. The Iranian regime imprisoned her and confiscated both her passports, preventing her from leaving the country. The release of Karari as a gesture of goodwill occurred before the Saturday collapse of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between Iran and the United States.

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