Iran Releases US-Iranian Detainee Dena Karari After 18-Month Ordeal, Trump Calls Release a Goodwill Gesture Amid Broader Negotiations

Iran allowed US-Iranian dual citizen Dena Karari to leave the country on Wednesday after an exit ban that began in December 2024, President Trump said, calling it "a gesture of Goodwill" 12. Her attorney, Jared Genser, said Karari was accused of espionage and collaboration with a hostile state over her work with the Children of Mehr Foundation, a US-registered nonprofit aiding impoverished children in Iran, and was interrogated dozens of times by Iran's Ministry of Intelligence and Security but never formally charged 12. Genser said her exit ban had expired in April but Iran still blocked her departure until Wednesday, and that she suffered a heart attack on July 8 13. CBS News reported Karari's name had been placed on a list of detained Americans that the State Department gave to envoy Steve Witkoff to press for release, and noted the release was not part of last month's US-Iran memorandum of understanding; fighting between the two countries resumed over the past week 3. Two Americans remain designated as wrongfully detained in Iran, Kamran Hekmati and Reza Valizadeh 123.