SAN FRANCISCO (VINnews) — Dena Karari, a dual U.S.-Iranian citizen wrongfully detained in Iran for more than a year and a half on espionage charges, has returned to the United States, her attorney announced Saturday.

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Karari, who worked for a U.S. technology company and ran a charity aiding children in Iran, arrived in San Francisco draped in an American flag, according to a photo shared by her human rights lawyer, Jared Genser.

“Welcome home Dena Karari from Iran to the land of the free and the home of the brave — after 566 days wrongly detained by the Iranian regime,” Genser wrote 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!”

President Donald Trump announced Karari’s release Wednesday, describing it as a “gesture of goodwill” by 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 on Truth Social. “She is now safely outside of Iran, and in good condition. The United States of America appreciates this gesture of Goodwill by Iran!”

Karari, 53, a California resident, had her passport seized while visiting relatives in Shiraz in December 2024. Iranian authorities accused her of espionage linked to her work with the Children of Mehr Foundation, a U.S.-registered nonprofit providing aid to impoverished children in Iran. She faced repeated interrogations but was not formally imprisoned, according to her attorney.

Her release marks the first known American freed from Iranian custody since 2023, amid ongoing tensions between the U.S. and Iran. Genser has called for the dismissal of remaining charges against others associated with the foundation and the release of all other Americans still held in Iran.

VINnews extends its wishes for Karari’s full recovery and safe reunification with her family