A 71-year-old Jewish Iranian-American from New York has been released from Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison, but Iranian authorities are continuing to prevent him from leaving the country.

Kamran Hekmati, an Iranian-born Jewish jeweler who lives in New York, was arrested during a visit to relatives in Iran in the summer of 2025. He was subsequently sentenced to two years in prison by a Revolutionary Court over a trip he made to Israel more than a decade earlier to attend relatives’ bar mitzvah.

Hekmati’s family has repeatedly raised serious concerns about his health. He is battling aggressive bladder cancer and, according to his family, was denied adequate medical treatment while imprisoned.

Although Hekmati was released from Evin Prison in recent days, Iranian authorities imposed an exit ban, leaving him unable to return home to the United States.

His case comes amid longstanding accusations that Tehran uses foreign and dual-national detainees as bargaining chips in its dealings with Western governments.

Another detainee, Dana Karari, was released on bail and left Iran for the United States in July after being held for 19 months. She had been sentenced in absentia to five years in prison.

Reza Valizadeh, a former journalist for a Persian-language media outlet and an Iranian-American citizen, remains imprisoned at Evin after receiving a 10-year sentence for allegedly cooperating with the United States. In a recorded phone call from prison in June, Valizadeh appealed to the U.S. government for medical assistance for himself and other Americans imprisoned in Iran.

Hekmati’s release marks a significant development for his family, but his continued exit ban means his ordeal is not yet over.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)