A Long Island jeweler, Kamran Hekmati, 71, has been released from Iran's Evin Prison after being detained for over a year, the U.S. State Department announced Tuesday. Hekmati, a resident of Great Neck Estates, was arrested by Iranian authorities in May 2025 while visiting family in Iran. He was accused of illegally traveling to Israel in 2012 for his son's bar mitzvah.
While Hekmati has been freed from prison, he remains subject to an exit ban, preventing him from leaving Iran. U.S. Representative Tom Suozzi, whose district includes Great Neck Estates, called his release a "wonderful first step" and urged Iranian authorities to allow Hekmati to return home. "His health is OK, but we need the Iranians to go the next step and let him come home," Suozzi told Newsday.
Hekmati, a Jewish Iranian-American who operates a jewelry business in Manhattan's Diamond District, spent over a year in Evin Prison. Amnesty International has described Evin Prison as a harsh facility known for excessive crackdowns and the use of unlawful force against inmates.
Iranian passport holders are prohibited from traveling to Israel. Hekmati's sentence of four years, initially imposed by Tehran's Revolutionary Court, was later reduced to two years after a statute amendment. Advocates note that Hekmati's case may exist in a legal gray area due to Iran's 10-year look-back window on its travel ban law, which was enacted after his visit to Israel.
Hekmati immigrated to the U.S. from Iran approximately 14 years ago but maintained ties to his homeland. He regularly returned to Iran for extended visits with family, according to his family. The U.S. State Department has called on the Iranian regime to lift the travel ban so Hekmati may return home.