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Iran Jails 70-Year-Old Iranian American Over 2012 Israel Visit

The State Department is urging Iran to free him immediately as his family seeks a humanitarian release due to his cancer.

Overview

  • Kamran Hekmati has been held in Tehran’s Evin Prison since July after his May detention during a family visit to Iran.
  • An Islamic Revolutionary Court sentenced him in late August under a law banning travel to Israel, with the original four-year term later reported as reduced, though outlets differ on whether to one or two years.
  • Family members say he was convicted without legal counsel, and a lawyer filed an appeal that still lacks a court date.
  • Hekmati entered Iran on his Iranian passport, and Iran’s refusal to recognize dual citizenship limits U.S. consular access and exposure to domestic prosecution.
  • Rights groups and Jewish organizations say the case fits a broader pattern of detaining foreign nationals and note the rare jailing of a Jewish dual citizen over a personal religious trip.