American woman back in US after wrongful detention by Iran for 566 days for 'spying'

An Iranian American woman wrongfully detained by the Islamic Republic for around a year and a half on spying charges is now back in the U.S., her attorney said.

Dena Karari was locked up by the Iranian regime for 566 days, charged with espionage. Upon her grand return to American soil, she draped an American flag over her shoulders and posed for a photo in San Francisco International Airport.

“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,” human rights attorney Jared Genser wrote in a post on X.

“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!” he added.

Karari is a dual citizen of both the U.S. and Iran and was detained by Iranian officials back in December 2024, according to The New York Times.

She worked for a U.S. technology company and also ran a charity for children in Iran, the outlet said.

She was eventually released from prison, but both her passports were confiscated, preventing her from leaving the country.

Karari was thus stranded in the Islamic Republic and remained there for about a year and a half.

On Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump announced Karari’s release, taking partial credit for it as he also lobbed attacks against former President Joe Biden, a Democrat.

“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,” he wrote on Truth Social.

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