Iranian-American Jew Kamran Hekmati released from Tehran's Evin Prison, must stay in Iran - report

SEPTEMBER 7, 2026 17:31Updated: SEPTEMBER 7, 2026 17:49Kamran Hekmati, a Jewish Iranian American citizen who had been held in Tehran’s Evin Prison, was released on Saturday, Iranian sources reported on Monday.However, a travel ban remains in effect, preventing him from leaving Iran and returning to his home in the United States. Iranian authorities have not yet officially announced his release.Hekmati was arrested in July 2025 and imprisoned after a Tehran court convicted him over a visit to Israel 13 years earlier, when he traveled there to attend his son’s bar mitzvah celebration. According to his family and organizations assisting with the case, the trial lasted about 10 minutes and was conducted without a lawyer or witnesses present.Hekmati’s family and the organizations assisting him have said the legal proceedings were conducted without legal representation and without witnesses being heard. His visit to Israel, which took place more than a decade before his arrest, was central to the conviction that led to his imprisonment.View of the entrance of Evin prison in Tehran. (credit: MAJID ASGARIPOUR/WANA (WEST ASIA NEWS AGENCY) VIA REUTERS)Travel ban on Hekmati remains in effectAlthough Hekmati is reportedly no longer being held at Evin Prison, his release does not currently allow him to leave Iran. The travel ban imposed on him remains in effect, and it is unclear when, or whether, it will be lifted.Iranian authorities have not issued an official statement confirming his release or providing details about the conditions under which he was freed.Follow us on Google