President Donald Trump said Tuesday that Iran has released an American woman who he said was «wrongfully detained» in the country for the past year and a half.

She was identified as Iranian-American citizen Dena Karari by her attorney Jared Genser, who confirmed her release to Fox News. She was reportedly accused of espionage over her work with an American nonprofit helping impoverished children.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump said the woman was detained in December 2024, during the Biden administration and was recently allowed to leave Iran. 

«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.

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Karari is reportedly now safely outside Iran and in good condition following her release, according to Trump.

Her release marks the first time an American has been freed from Iranian custody since 2023, and represents a notable development amid ongoing military confrontations between Washington and Tehran.

Following her release, Trump thanked Iran for what he described as a «gesture of goodwill.»

«The United States of America appreciates this gesture of Goodwill by Iran!» he wrote.

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Dena Karari was targeted after Iranian authorities linked her to the Children of Mehr Foundation, a U.S.-registered nonprofit, her attorney said. (AFP/Via Getty Images)

Gesner released a statement shortly after Trump’s announcement, saying she 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 other humanitarian assistance to impoverished children in rural Iran.

Under the regime, affiliations with U.S.-based organizations operating inside Iran are often viewed with heightened suspicion and can lead to accusations of security-related offenses.

Genser clarified that Karari was never formally imprisoned but was effectively held in Iran through a «coercive exit ban.» She was reportedly interrogated dozens of times by Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS) 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.»

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Protesters chant slogans during an anti-government demonstration in Tehran, Iran, Jan. 8, 2026. (UGC via AP)

Sources previously told Fox News Digital in January 2026 that Iran may have been holding more than eight American citizens and residents in custody, exceeding publicly available data that listed five American hostages in Iran.

Two of the current 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.

A U.S. State Department official previously told Fox News Digital 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.

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Women hold Iranian flags and pictures of the late Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in Tehran, Iran, March 6, 2026. (Vahid Salemi/AP Photo)

According to United Against Nuclear Iran, Tehran 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.

Iran has frequently targeted individuals who hold both American and Iranian citizenship, as Tehran does not recognize dual nationality and often treats dual citizens solely as Iranian nationals, limiting their access to U.S. consular assistance, United Against Nuclear Iran said.

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During the most recent major prisoner exchange in September 2023, the U.S. secured the release of five Americans who had been detained in Iran for years. In exchange, the U.S. approved the transfer of $6 billion in frozen funds.

Fox News’ Benjamin Weinthal contributed to this report.

Nevada Lt. Gov. Stavros Anthony has an unusual plan to rev up the Silver State’s entertainment business: space tourism; and with Elon Musk having significant business interests in the state, he won’t have to look far to find the man to do it.

Anthony’s background has been anything but boring: he had a nearly three-decade career in law enforcement, was a regent in the state’s higher education system, and served as a longtime Las Vegas city councilman. 

He ran a spirited campaign for mayor of Las Vegas, and since 2022 has served alongside Governor Joe Lombardo, leading the Silver State. The Lombardo/Anthony ticket was the only one in America in which Republicans defeated an incumbent Democratic governor and lieutenant governor.

Recently, Anthony sat down with Fox News Digital at FreedomFest in Las Vegas to discuss his career, the Nevada economy, and electoral prospects in 2026, in what is shaping up to be one of the tightest gubernatorial races in the country.

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Anthony promotes the state as a mecca for the entertainment business, touting a light regulatory touch and a thriving climate for entrepreneurship. He’s particularly bullish on professional sports, and the nascent space tourism industry.

«If you look at 10 years ago, we didn’t have one major sporting activity here in Nevada. They actually would not come here because they thought there would be illegal gambling and corruption and bribery and so on and so forth. In 10 years, we’ve become the sports capital of the world. Baseball is coming. We have hockey. We have football. We’re going to have basketball coming. F1. NASCAR, we have women’s basketball on and on and that just kind of cropped up.

«The thing about Las Vegas is anything can happen here, so it’s really not up to me as a lieutenant governor to decide what’s the next big thing in tourism. It’s the tourist industry that has to decide what’s the next big thing. 

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«One thing that is of interest is space tourism. I think that might be a future here in Nevada because we have a lot of open land where… somebody like Elon Musk can shoot rockets up into outer space, hang out up there for a while, have some drinks. Hang out with friends.

«What an experience that would be to see the Earth from up there and actually make it a tourist kind of an adventure. So those are the kind of things that we’re constantly thinking about, but it’s the private sector that needs to do it, and I am very much in favor of allowing our entrepreneurs to come up with the next best thing and to support them.»

Elon Musk speaks at the Viva Technology conference focused on innovation and startups at the Porte de Versailles exhibition center in Paris on June 16, 2023. (Chesnot/Getty Images)

Anthony credits his lengthy career with Las Vegas Metro Police for giving him the problem-solving foundation to launch a successful political career:

«You know, most people think of the policing that they see on television. High-speed pursuits, gunfights, bar fights, chasing people down dark alleys, and arresting serious criminals. And that is a big part of policing. But really, 90% of police work is really solving problems. Going into neighborhoods, finding out what are the issues in those neighborhoods, helping those neighbors solve issues to make their quality of life a lot better.

«I’ve learned that that’s really what I should be doing as an elected official. My job is to go out there and talk to people and find out what the state can do, what a county could do, what a city could do to make their lives better: helping folks live the American dream and not causing problems like higher taxes, higher regulations, getting in their way, those sorts of things. So that’s really what I learned about police work.»

Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo speaks onstage after a parade for Bruno Mars honoring his impact on Las Vegas entertainment at Toshiba Plaza on April 10, 2026, in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images for MGM Resorts)

President Trump has endorsed the Lombardo/Anthony ticket, and he believes that the new no tax on tips policy will prove to be a major electoral boost come November.

«Well, President Trump has endorsed the governor. President Trump has endorsed me. He was just here a couple of months ago to talk about his no taxes on tips, which was a huge thing here in Nevada.»

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«I think President Trump will be here. He’s welcome anytime to come to the great state of Nevada and talk to folks in Nevada. When he was campaigning, he would have events with 5,000 or 6,000 people attending. So we have a good relationship with him. We want to have a relationship with him, and I believe he’ll be here to talk about some of the great things his administration is doing, not only in the country, but how it’s impacting Nevada in a positive way.»

President Donald Trump speaks about the economy during an event at the Circa Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025.  (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Finally, Anthony notes that his political philosophy is heavily shaped by his immigrant parents from Cyprus who instilled the values of hard work, self-reliance, and fiscal responsibility.

«When they came to the United States, and they didn’t have anything, all they could do was find a job and get married and raise a family… number one: you work hard. 

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«Number two: you don’t ask the government for anything. You want them to protect you, you want to have roads. But you don’t ask them for welfare, you don’t ask them for unemployment checks, you don’t ask them for food stamps. So that’s not something that they thought the government would do.

«Their responsibility was to work hard, raise a family, buy a home and live the American dream. That taught me a lot. And that’s really how I’ve continued my public service. I am here to support Nevadans in ways that they want support, but I’m not here to carry them. They need to carry themselves, and I think they understand that.»

El subsecretario Michael Kozak afirmó ante el Senado de Estados Unidos que el statu quo en Nicaragua “debe” cambiar “pronto”, al definir al régimen de Daniel Ortega y Rosario Murillo como una “brutal y cleptocrática dinastía dictatorial” y ubicar al país entre las principales preocupaciones de seguridad de Washington en el hemisferio occidental.

En la misma comparecencia, el funcionario sostuvo que la política exterior de la administración de Donald Trump hacia América Latina tuvo entre sus resultados una caída del 92% en los encuentros diarios de inmigrantes ilegales en la frontera suroeste estadounidense durante los primeros 17 meses de gestión, un dato que presentó como parte del endurecimiento de la agenda regional.

Kozak declaró ante el Subcomité para el Hemisferio Occidental del Comité de Relaciones Exteriores del Senado que Nicaragua “sufre bajo una dinastía dictatorial brutal y cleptocrática que reprime todas las facetas de la Iglesia Católica, así como a sus ciudadanos comunes, y alberga a adversarios de seguridad de los Estados Unidos”, indican medios regionales.

“El statu quo en Nicaragua es intolerable para los Estados Unidos y sus vecinos, así como para el pueblo nicaragüense. Debe cambiar, y pronto”, declaró según medios como 100% Noticias.

La audiencia estuvo centrada en la Estrategia de Seguridad Nacional y en la política de Estados Unidos hacia América Latina. Citado por Centroamérica360, el subsecretario remarcó que la preocupación de su gobierno no se limita a un solo país. “Nos preocupa la inestabilidad y los actores malignos en Cuba, Nicaragua y Venezuela”, dijo durante su testimonio.

Ese señalamiento elevó el tono de las críticas de la administración Trump contra el régimen nicaragüense. De acuerdo con el medio centroamericano, se trató de una de las declaraciones públicas emitidas hasta ese momento por un funcionario de esa administración sobre la situación política del país.

Durante su intervención, Kozak también evaluó la política exterior de Washington en la región y colocó el combate a la inmigración ilegal como “primer objetivo” de la administración Trump. En ese punto, sostuvo que el enfoque de seguridad fronteriza aplicado con socios regionales “resultados sin precedentes”.

La cita textual que presentó fue la siguiente: “Nuestro primer objetivo ha sido eliminar la inmigración ilegal. El enfoque integral del presidente Trump hacia la seguridad fronteriza, trabajando con socios en toda la región, ha logrado resultados sin precedentes: los encuentros diarios de inmigrantes ilegales en la frontera suroeste de Estados Unidos han disminuido un 92%”.

El subsecretario aseguró además que su gobierno facilitó el mayor número de deportaciones de su historia para retirar a extranjeros sin derecho a permanecer en Estados Unidos. También dijo que ese liderazgo permitió a países socios mejorar el control de sus propias fronteras.

En otro tramo de su comparecencia, afirmó que varios líderes extranjeros reconocieron los efectos sociales del tráfico de personas a través de sus territorios. Sostuvo además que la reducción de la inmigración ilegal afectó una fuente importante de ingresos de los cárteles, porque, según su explicación, una parte muy significativa de sus ingresos globales provenía del traslado de migrantes hacia Estados Unidos.

Según Centroamérica360, Kozak abordó además la situación venezolana y dijo que Estados Unidos considera necesario encontrar un equilibrio para convocar elecciones después de la emergencia generada por los terremotos que afectaron al país.

En ese contexto, indicó que no deberían celebrarse comicios demasiado pronto ni demasiado tarde. “Creo que algo así como el 40% de los votantes en Venezuela no están registrados en este momento. Tienen que arreglar el padrón electoral, renovar el Consejo Electoral”, afirmó.

También señaló que la Asamblea Nacional de 2015 y las autoridades interinas habían anunciado que empezarían a trabajar el primero de agosto para activar los elementos necesarios para organizar esas elecciones.