Jeweler Held in Iran Faces Health Crisis | Roanoke News

An Iranian-American jeweler, Kamran Hekmati, has been released from prison in Iran but remains trapped there, unable to leave due to an unjust exit ban — a move his family fears is part of Iran’s tactic of using Americans as bargaining chips. Diagnosed with bladder cancer and in desperate need of medical care, Hekmati, 62, was arrested last July after his passport was confiscated when he tried to flee Tehran. His family insists his last trip to Israel was over a decade ago — before the law that now bars him even existed. U.S. officials and advocates are hopeful this release signals progress toward his return home, while also urging Iran to lift the ban and free other wrongfully detained Americans like journalist Reza Valizadeh, who’s been imprisoned since 2024 under horrific conditions. Both men have been officially designated by the U.S. government as wrongfully detained — Hekmati, a New York-based jeweler, and Valizadeh, a journalist for a U.S.-funded Persian outlet — highlighting the complex human cost of geopolitical tensions. Listen in comfort:Get a discount on a Soli Pillow: http://solipillow.com/discount/dnn. Advertise on DNN:[email protected] This is an automated, high-level news summary based on public reporting.Report issues to [email protected]. View sources & latest updates:https://sources.thednn.ai/35ff293391f155f8