Dena Karari left Iran on Wednesday after being unable to leave since December 2024. Karari, a U.S.-Iran dual citizen, had been under an exit ban that kept her in place for over a year.
Jared Genser wrote on social media that Karari’s restraint was tied to “bogus charges.” Late Wednesday, Genser said she was “safe and traveling back to the United States.”
Iran and the exit ban
Iran never formally charged Karari, even though the exit ban remained in force until April and then continued past that point. Karari suffered a heart attack on July 8, which added urgency to a case that had already stretched across months.
Two sources said Karari’s name was on a list of Americans that the U.S. State Department had given to Steve Witkoff, who is helping to lead U.S.-Iran diplomacy. Earlier Wednesday, President Trump wrote on Truth Social that Iran had released a U.S. citizen and that “She is now safely outside of Iran, and in good condition,” adding, “The United States of America appreciates this gesture of Goodwill by Iran.”
Other Americans in Iran
The release comes while several Americans remain imprisoned in Iran, including Kamran Hekmati and Reza Valizadeh, who have been legally designated as wrongfully detained. CBS News obtained a recording of Valizadeh pleading for his release from inside Evin Prison last month, and the release of detained Americans was not part of the memorandum of understanding signed by the U.S. and Iran last month.
That agreement extended the ceasefire for 60 days, but fighting between the United States and Iran has resumed over the last week. The State Department declined to comment on the situation, leaving Karari’s departure as the clearest movement so far in a case that had kept her from leaving Iran since December 2024.
