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Tuesday, March 17, 2026
US designates Jewish Iranian-American held in Iran as wrongfully detained — family
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleKamran Hekmati, a Jewish Iranian-American jeweler from Long Island, traveled to Iran last year to visit family but was detained and has been held there since. He is currently imprisoned in the notorious Evin Prison and is believed to be among a half dozen Americans detained in Iran.
The family, which disclosed last year that Iran imprisoned Hekmati for traveling to Israel for his son’s bar mitzvah, says the State Department notified them on Monday that he has been designated as wrongfully detained. Such a designation moves supervision of a detained American’s case to the Special Presidential Office of Hostage Affairs, which functions as the US government’s chief hostage negotiator.
“This designation is an official recognition by the US Government that Kamran is being held on false charges in an effort by the Iranians to leverage the US Government,” Shohreh Nowfar, his cousin, says in a statement.
The designation “reassures us that our government has our back in the effort to get Kamran home safely,” Nowfar said.
The State Department last week designated Iran as a state sponsor of wrongful detention, accusing the country of engaging in hostage diplomacy.
NEWS
The Islamic Republic of Iran has sentenced an Iranian American Jewish man from New York to prison on charges of traveling to Israel 13 years ago for celebrating his son's bar mitzvah.
Kamran Hekmati, a 70-year-old jeweler who traveled to Iran in May for a brief visit, has… pic.twitter.com/PrVDLuozdj
— Yashar Ali ???? (@yashar) November 7, 2025
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