Overview
- Multiple outlets report that Kamran Hekmati was released from Evin Prison on Saturday, but Iranian authorities have not publicly confirmed his release and he remains subject to an exit ban that prevents him from leaving Iran.
- The U.S. State Department publicly welcomed the reported release and reiterated its call for Iran to lift the travel ban so Hekmati can return home to receive medical care.
- Hekmati was convicted after Iranian prosecutors said he had earlier traveled to Israel, a trip Tehran bars its passport holders from making, and his sentence was reduced from four years to two after a legal change.
- Family members and advocates say Hekmati has aggressive bladder cancer and that his prison trial lasted only minutes without a lawyer or witnesses, raising serious medical and due‑process concerns that prompted the U.S. to designate him as wrongfully detained in March.
- Human rights groups and media place the case in a pattern of Iran detaining dual nationals for leverage, which complicates consular access and means any move to lift the exit ban will depend on further diplomatic steps by U.S. officials and Tehran.