Trump says Iran has released US citizen detained since 2024

US President Donald Trump announced on Wednesday that Iran has released an American citizen who had been detained in the country since December 2024. The woman, identified in multiple reports as Dena Karari, a dual Iranian-American citizen, was described by Trump as now being safely outside of Iran and in good condition. He characterized the release as a “gesture of goodwill” by the Iranian government. Trump did not name the woman in his post on Truth Social, but outlets including The New York Times, The Guardian and France24 identified her as Karari.

According to reports, Karari had been detained in December 2024 on espionage-related charges. Her passport had been seized, preventing her from leaving the country while she faced the accusations. Details about the exact circumstances of her detention, the progress of any legal proceedings against her, or the specific conditions under which she was allowed to leave Iran have not been made public. Information about any negotiations or possible concessions involved in securing her release also remains unavailable.

The announcement came against an unusually tense backdrop. Only hours earlier, the US military said it had completed a fresh wave of strikes on Iran, carried out at Trump's direction. According to US Central Command (CENTCOM), the strikes targeted Iranian command centers, air defense sites, missile and drone capabilities, and coastal surveillance facilities. Targets reportedly included Bandar Abbas, Iran's principal port city on the Strait of Hormuz. Several outlets described this as the second wave of strikes within 24 hours.

The renewed strikes come amid a significant escalation in tensions between Washington and Tehran, only weeks after the two countries had signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at ending the broader Middle East conflict. According to multiple news agencies, that fragile arrangement has since collapsed. Trump had also reimposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports and threatened further strikes on power plants and bridges if Tehran did not return to negotiations.

Iran responded to the new strikes with sharp warnings. According to reports, Iranian officials described the situation as an “existential war” with the United States and threatened to cut off additional regional energy exports. At the same time, observers reported retaliatory action against US military facilities in the region, including a US base in Jordan and targets in Kuwait. Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) reportedly said it had launched missiles and drones at US military assets in Kuwait.

Against this backdrop of rapidly escalating military confrontation, the release of Dena Karari appears, at first glance, to stand in contrast to the surrounding events. Trump himself framed the move as a gesture of goodwill, without elaborating further or explicitly connecting it to the ongoing hostilities. Why Iran chose this particular moment to take such a step remains unclear. It is possible that the release had been arranged separately over a longer period, or that it was intended as a diplomatic signal amid the tense situation. No verified information is currently available to clarify the motivation behind the timing.

The release was reported internationally by several outlets, including NDTV, the Straits Times and TRT World, all of which cited Trump's statements but were unable to provide further details about the background of the case. Russian news agency TASS also quoted Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who criticized the continued strikes on Iran, saying they were closing the door on the resolution that the memorandum of understanding had appeared to open.

Whether Karari's release will have any broader impact on US-Iran relations remains uncertain. Given the parallel military escalation, mutual threats, and the apparent collapse of the earlier agreement, a near-term de-escalation does not appear likely based on currently available information. Further developments, such as possible renewed negotiations or additional prisoner releases, have not been confirmed at this time.