US hostages in Iran face danger during protests, more held than previously suspected

Information reviewed by sources familiar with Iran’s detention practices indicates Tehran may be holding more than eight American citizens and residents, exceeding the commonly cited figure of five. 

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

US analysts and rights advocates say the number of Americans held by Iran may be far higher than publicly acknowledged, warning that the expanding protest movement inside the country could complicate efforts to bring any of them home, Fox News reports.

Information reviewed by sources familiar with Iran’s detention practices indicates Tehran may be holding more than eight American citizens and residents, exceeding the commonly cited figure of five.

These individuals are scattered across cases that span recent years, including elderly detainees, journalists, and dual nationals barred from leaving the country after short-term releases.

Among the newest known arrests is 70-year-old Kamran Hekmati of Great Neck, New York, who was detained in July 2025.

Iranian authorities accused him of visiting Israel more than a decade earlier to attend his son’s Bar Mitzvah. Hekmati, a Persian Jew born in Iran, is serving a four-year sentence issued by the Islamic Revolutionary Court and has been held at Evin Prison as well as an intelligence facility, according to HRANA.

CNN has reported he is battling bladder cancer.

Another case involves Afarin Mohajer, a California resident taken into custody on September 29, 2025, at Tehran’s international airport.

HRANA said no charges were announced. Radio Farda reported that Mohajer has an inoperable brain tumor and was told before entering prison that her prognosis was poor.

Though released on bail in December, she remains barred from leaving Iran. An unnamed Iranian American woman arrested in December 2024 similarly had her passports confiscated after a brief release.

Additional detainees include former Radio Farda journalist Reza Valizadeh, taken in 2024 after visiting relatives.

Voice of America has reported that he was later charged with “collaborating with a hostile government.” Another long-running case is that of Virginia resident Shahab Dalili, arrested in 2016 and sentenced to ten years for the same allegation.

A State Department official told Fox News Digital that President Donald Trump is working to secure the release of Americans held abroad, calling Iran’s record “a long history of unjustly and wrongfully detaining other countries’ citizens as hostages.” The official declined to confirm numbers, citing security concerns.

Former hostage and diplomat Barry Rosen warned that the current upheaval in Iran may make the path to securing releases even more difficult.

He said quiet channels “are nearly impossible” in the current climate, though he urged strong public backing for Iranians seeking democratic change.

Experts such as Navid Mohebbi argue that Tehran uses detentions as a strategic tool.

He said the only way to curb the practice is through penalties that are “measurable, cumulative, and irreversible,” including sanctions, asset seizures, and coordinated pressure with US allies.