Iran Frees American Woman After Trump Demands Action — Biden Left Her to Rot

Liberty Check

• President Trump successfully secured the release of an American woman wrongfully detained by Iran since December 2024 — a hostage crisis Joe Biden completely ignored during his final weeks in office.
• Dena Karari, an Iranian-American citizen, was held on bogus espionage charges simply for working with a nonprofit helping impoverished children, enduring interrogation and psychological torture by Iran’s intelligence apparatus.
• Trump’s decisive leadership stands in stark contrast to Biden’s weakness — this marks the first American freed from Iranian custody since 2023, proving strong leadership gets results.

President Donald Trump announced Tuesday that Iran has released an American woman who was wrongfully detained in the Islamic Republic for over a year — a hostage situation the Biden administration left unresolved during its final months in power.

The freed American was identified as Iranian-American citizen Dena Karari by her attorney Jared Genser, who confirmed her release. She had been falsely accused of espionage over her work with a U.S. nonprofit that provided assistance to impoverished children in rural Iran.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump revealed that Karari was detained in December 2024 during the Biden administration and was only recently allowed to leave Iran after his intervention.

“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,” Trump wrote.

Karari is now safely outside Iran and in good condition following her release, according to the president. Her freedom marks the first time an American has been freed from Iranian custody since 2023, representing a significant victory for American strength and resolve.

Following her release, Trump thanked Iran for what he described as a “gesture of goodwill” — a clear signal that his America First approach to foreign policy commands respect on the world stage.

“The United States of America appreciates this gesture of Goodwill by Iran!” he wrote.

Genser released a statement shortly after Trump’s announcement, confirming that Karari had been “trapped in Iran on bogus charges of collaboration with a hostile state and espionage” but is now on her way back to the United States.

According to Genser, Karari was targeted after Iranian authorities linked her to the Children of Mehr Foundation, a U.S.-registered nonprofit that provides books, literacy programs and humanitarian assistance to impoverished children in rural Iran. Under the brutal Iranian regime, any affiliation with U.S.-based organizations operating inside the country is viewed with suspicion and can lead to fabricated security charges.

Genser clarified that Karari was never formally imprisoned but was effectively held hostage in Iran through a “coercive exit ban.” She was interrogated dozens of times by Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security and “suffered enormous physical and psychological hardship.”

“We urge Iran to drop all the remaining charges against those who worked locally in support of the Children of Mehr Foundation, who are innocent and committed no crimes,” Genser said.

“And I personally call on Iran to release both all wrongly imprisoned Americans and those subjected to coercive exit bans and all Iranian political prisoners.”

Sources previously told Fox News Digital in January that Iran may have been holding more than eight American citizens and residents in custody — exceeding publicly available data that listed only five American hostages in Iran. The true scope of Iran’s hostage-taking operation has been deliberately obscured by the regime.

Two of the remaining hostages include Kamran Hekmati, a 61-year-old Jewish man held since May 2025, and Reza Valizadeh, a 49-year-old journalist and dual Iranian-American national held since March 2024. Both remain in Iranian custody despite their innocence.

A State Department official confirmed that “President Trump is working to secure the release of detained Americans around the world.”

“The Iranian regime has a long history of unjustly and wrongfully detaining other countries’ citizens as hostages for use as political leverage. Iran should release these individuals immediately,” the official said.

According to United Against Nuclear Iran, Tehran routinely detains foreign nationals on vague charges and uses them as “bargaining chips” to extract concessions from other countries, such as securing the release of frozen financial assets locked up by international sanctions. This hostage diplomacy is a hallmark of the terrorist regime’s behavior.

Iran frequently targets individuals who hold both American and Iranian citizenship, refusing to recognize dual nationality and treating dual citizens solely as Iranian nationals. This tactic limits their access to U.S. consular assistance and leaves them vulnerable to the regime’s abuses.

During the most recent major prisoner exchange in September 2023 under the Biden administration, the U.S. secured the release of five Americans detained in Iran. In exchange, Biden approved the transfer of $6 billion in frozen funds — effectively paying ransom to a terrorist regime and incentivizing further hostage-taking.

Trump’s approach stands in stark contrast: strength, not weakness. Results, not ransom payments. American citizens coming home, not being left behind.

Americans deserve better.