Great Neck Estates man detained in Iran released from notorious Evin prison

An Iranian American man from Great Neck Estates who had been held in a notorious Iranian prison for more than a year has been released, according to the U.S. State Department.

Kamran Hekmati, 62, who had been held at Evin Prison in Tehran, is still under an exit ban, which means he cannot leave the country, according to a global nonprofit and U.S. Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-Glen Cove). 

Hekmati, who is Jewish, had been designated a "wrongful detainee" by the U.S. Department of State. Hekmati was one of at least six Americans that advocates say were unjustly imprisoned in Iran. 

“We welcome Mr. Hekmati’s release from detention and continue to call on the Iranian regime to lift the exit ban so that he may return home," a U.S. State Department spokesperson said in an email.

“This is a wonderful first step,” Suozzi said in an interview. “His health is OK, but we need the Iranians to go the next step and let him come home.”

The State Department did not immediately respond to questions about why Hekmati was released, when he was released and his current whereabouts.

Global Reach, a Washington, D.C., nonprofit that has been in touch with Hekmati's family, also confirmed his release. “Hekmati has been released from Evin Prison, but remains on an exit ban, unable to leave Iran and return home,” said Kieran Ramsey, Global Reach's chief investigative officer. Family members declined to comment, Ramsey told Newsday. 

Hekmati, a jeweler who served on the Village of Great Neck Estates' Zoning Board, was detained in July 2025 while in Iran visiting friends and family, Ramsey said. His passport had been taken before his arrest. He was sentenced because of a previous trip to Israel 13 years earlier for attending his son's bar mitzvah celebration. Supporters say the arrest was wrong because his visit happened prior to the 10-year look-back period as defined in Iranian law.

Iran does not recognize dual citizenship, according to the State Department.

Family members say the law was passed after he visited Israel.

Hekmati and his family left Iran for the United States in 1977. 

"This is one of the sad consequences of this regime," Suozzi said. "This is a positive step forward, but we need to go the next step. Mr. Hekmati did nothing wrong."

Hekmati was sentenced to 4 years in prison, but the sentence was later changed to 2 years, according to family members. Iran charged him with meeting with agents of Mossad, the Israeli intelligence agency, Newsday previously reported. His family has denied the charges.

Evin Prison is on the northern outskirts of Tehran and is "overcrowded, filthy, and insect-infested," according to the Human Rights Watch, a global nonprofit. Inmates are faced with "ill-treatment and violence," according to the nonprofit. Hekmati has bladder cancer and had expressed concern to family members that he was not receiving proper treatment, Newsday has reported.

Raymond Iryami, an Iranian American Great Neck resident who has known Hekmati for decades, welcomed the news of Hekmati's release.

"We're not going to rest until he's united with his family, but this is a great first step," Iryami said in an interview. "It's very sad he's been imprisoned all these months, but I'm very happy he's out of jail."

By Joshua Needelman

joshua.needelman@newsday.com

Joshua Needelman covers the Town of North Hempstead for Newsday. A Long Island native and University of Maryland graduate, his work has appeared in publications including The New York Times and The Washington Post.