Iranian American jeweler released from prison but cannot leave Iran
An Iranian American jeweler from New York has been released from prison in Iran, but he is prohibited from leaving the country, according to his family and federal officials, reports BritPanorama.
Kamran Hekmati was let out of Tehran’s notorious Evin prison on Sept. 5 after completing about half of a two-year sentence, his family recently wrote on a website advocating for his release.
The family expressed concern for his health, noting that he requires regular medical checkups to manage his bladder cancer. “The Iranian regime couldn’t care less,” they stated regarding Hekmati’s medical challenges, adding that he appears to be caught in a pattern of wrongful detentions aimed at leveraging political concessions from the U.S.
Representatives for both the family and the federal government have not disclosed Hekmati’s current whereabouts in Iran or the number of other Americans reported to be detained in the country.
Shohreh Nowfar, Hekmati’s cousin, expressed hope that his passport could soon be returned, allowing him to leave Iran amid ongoing tensions between the country and the U.S. and Israel. “We continue to hope this is a signal from the Iranian side as to their willingness to send Kamran home,” said Kieran Ramsey, chief investigative officer at Global Reach, a U.S. nonprofit organization involved in his case.
The jeweler, who is also Jewish, has operated a business in Manhattan’s Diamond District and lived with his family in Great Neck Estates, Long Island. He was arrested by Iranian authorities last July after having his passport seized while attempting to fly out of Tehran in May.
Hekmati’s family alleges that he was charged under a law prohibiting Iranian citizens from visiting Israel within the past decade, though they maintain his last trip there was 13 years ago for his son’s bar mitzvah.
U.S. Representative Thomas Suozzi has advocated for the State Department to officially designate Hekmati as wrongfully detained, stating, “Mr. Hekmati did nothing wrong. We cannot rest until he is reunited with his family.”
The State Department has similarly urged Iran to lift its exit ban on Hekmati and called for the release of Iranian American journalist Reza Valizadeh and other Americans unjustly detained.
Valizadeh himself, imprisoned since 2024, has sent voice messages describing the harsh conditions at Evin prison, a facility known for housing political prisoners. In one August recording, he remarked that medical care is severely lacking, mentioning that diseases like tuberculosis have resurfaced among inmates.
Before his recent release, Hekmati had received a medical furlough for cancer treatment but was ordered back to prison before starting chemotherapy.
Valizadeh has also been officially designated as wrongfully detained by the U.S. government. His arrest followed a trip to Iran where he aimed to visit his elderly parents. He faces charges of collaborating with the U.S. government.
Meanwhile, Valizadeh, a U.S. citizen since 2022 while working for a government-funded organization, is among at least nine reporters currently jailed in Iran, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists.
The situation surrounding Hekmati and other detainees illustrates the complex geopolitical tensions and the human cost of political maneuvers in the region.
