The family of New Yorker Kamran Hekmati has been urging President Donald Trump and the administration to include his release in any ceasefire deal with Iran. Amid the ongoing war, the American hostages could be a target of the brutal regime. Moreover, there was no mention of the return of hostages in the U.S. 15-point plan to end the war.
Kieran Ramsey of the Global Reach advocacy group, representing the Hekmati family, said they are counting on President Donald Trump to secure his return.
Ramsey noted, “Put the humanitarian aspect first, and everything can flow after that. Just like it did in Gaza. We saw that when the administration put the hostages first, everything trickled out. That is the off-ramp he could easily use to end the hostilities.”
The U.S. government would not confirm how many Americans are being held in Iran, but the James W. Foley Legacy Foundation, a hostage advocacy organization, said there are six and that they face “unprecedented danger” because of the military conflict. https://t.co/cXK1WbOlBZ
— WTOP (@WTOP) March 8, 2026
According to the James W. Foley Legacy Foundation, at least half a dozen are being held hostage in Iran. Kamran Hekmati is one of the hostages who was captured for no reason. What was intended as a brief trip resulted in his detention.
Iranian-American and Jewish, Hekmati was visiting Iran for his son’s bar mitzvah. He got arrested and was held at Evin Prison. Hekmati is also suffering from bladder cancer, adding further to his hardships in prison.
Earlier, Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-N.Y.) had ordered the authorities to work towards his release. Hekmati was stopped at the airport as he prepared to board a return flight to New York. Other detainees include Reza Valizadeh, an American journalist, and Afarin Mohajer, the mother of a political activist, according to advocacy groups.
Valizadeh was born in Iran and holds American citizenship. He was detained in 2024 when he was visiting his elderly parents. He is also being held at the Evin prison, sentenced to ten years. The lawyer representing the journalist, Ryan Fayhee, claimed they are speaking to the White House about the situation. His safety remains an issue while the U.S. is carrying out strikes in Iran.
There are at least four Americans currently detained in Iran. Two of them — Reza Valizadeh and Kamran Hekmati — have been designated by the U.S. government as “wrongfully detained,” and they’re believed to be held inside Iran’s notorious Evin Prison. @margbrennan has the latest. pic.twitter.com/c9sukwmiLy
— CBS News (@CBSNews) March 20, 2026
Secretary of State Marco Rubio assured that they are working on the homecoming of hostages. He said, “There has been no worse offender in the world than the clerical regime in Tehran. We believe in homecomings, we work for homecomings, and under the president’s leadership, we will not stop until every single unjustly detained American is brought home.”
