U.S. citizen departs Iran after being barred from leaving for over a year

A U.S.-Iran dual citizen who was trapped in Iran on allegations of espionage and collaborating with a hostile state has departed the country, CBS News learned Wednesday.

The woman, Dena Karari, had been unable to leave Iran since December 2024 due to “bogus charges,” her attorney, Jared Genser, wrote on social media. Genser announced late Wednesday that Karari is now free, writing that she is “safe and traveling back to the United States.”

Karari was under an exit ban, which means that Iranian authorities refused to let her leave, but did not have her imprisoned.

She was never formally charged by Iran. Although her coercive exit ban expired in April, Iran did not allow her to exit at the time. 

She suffered a heart attack on July 8, two sources told CBS News. 

Two sources said Karari’s name was on a list of Americans that the U.S. State Department had given to U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff — who is helping to lead U.S.-Iran diplomacy — to press for her release.

President Trump wrote on Truth Social earlier Wednesday that Iran had released a U.S. citizen, but he did not identify the person.

“She is now safely outside of Iran, and in good condition,” Mr. Trump said. “The United States of America appreciates this gesture of Goodwill by Iran.”

The State Department declined to comment on the situation. 

Several Americans are imprisoned in Iran, two of whom have been legally designated as wrongfully detained: Kamran Hekmati and Reza Valizadeh. The State Department can label U.S. nationals as “wrongfully detained” based on multiple criteria, including credible evidence of their innocence or reports that they are being held to extract concessions from the U.S. government.

Last month, CBS News obtained a recording of Valizadeh, an Iranian American journalist, pleading for his release from inside Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison.

The release of detained Americans was not part of the memorandum of understanding signed by the U.S. and Iran last month, which extended the two countries’ ceasefire for 60 days. Fighting between the two sides has resumed over the last week.