WASHINGTON – The family of New Yorker Kamran Hekmati, who has been imprisoned in Iran for more than a year, is pleading with President Trump to make his release a condition of any peace deal.
“Kamran is not only an American citizen; he is a devoted father, husband, brother, and cousin. Today, he is also a cancer patient. He is battling bladder cancer without access to the medical care he urgently needs. Every day matters,” cousin Shohreh Nowfar, who acts as spokesperson for the Hekmati family, wrote in a letter obtained by The Post.
“Mr. President, we know you have the ability to make this happen,” the letter continued. “Thank you for your leadership and your commitment to bringing Americans home.”
The letter was sent Tuesday night to President Trump, the State Department, the National Security Council and other senior government officials.
The Kekmati family’s plea comes after Trump vowed in an interview over the weekend to bring all US hostages home if he is able.
“We’ll talk about it and we’ll see. No one really has an accurate list of who they are,” Trump said on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” adding: “If you give me their names, I’ll do my best to get them home.”
Hekmati, a Jewish Iranian-American, is being held at the notorious Evin Prison in Tehran. The 61-year-old from Great Neck was visiting family in May 2025 when Iranian officials prevented him from leaving the country on the grounds that he had illegally visited Israel for his son’s bar mitzvah 13 years earlier.
Adding to the family’s worries is the renewed bombing campaign waged against the Islamic Republic following the downing of a US Army Apache helicopter over the Strait of Hormuz Monday evening by an Iranian drone.
“Unfortunately, we’re now seeing military hostilities increase again, but we want to see the sequencing on this flip. We want these Americans home. These Americans need to come home,” said Kieran Ramsey of the Global Reach advocacy group, which represents Hekmati’s family.
In March, Hekmati was declared wrongfully detained by the State Department, meaning the US government considers him a political hostage.
Reza Valizadeh, an Iranian-American journalist who has been held in Evin since September 2024 in connection with his work for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s Persian-language service, Radio Farda, was also designated as wrongfully detained in May 2025.
A recent voice recording made by Valizadeh inside the prison has raised alarms about the treatment of the hostages.
In the recording, obtained by CBS News last week, Valizadeh described “physical pressure and mental torture” he and several other detained Americans are going through, and added that they are “suffering from various diseases and are deprived from real medical services.”
Valizadeh also noted there was a chance to secure his release and that of his fellow captives before 20 Iranian sailors were released by the US in May following the seizure of their commercial vessels.
“The US government could have demanded our exchange in return. However, it did not happen,” the journalist said.
“President Trump has made it clear that he wants all Americans wrongfully and unjustly detained overseas to be brought home,” an administration official told The Post Wednesday.
“The administration is closely tracking US citizens currently detained in Iran and working diligently to secure their release.”
The president has repeatedly urged Tehran to make a deal to end the war, insisting specifically that Iran give up its ambition to obtain a nuclear weapon.
But advocates insist the freedom of detained Americans must be part of the bargain.
“If there’s any deal to be made, it’s got to include the release of these Americans,” Ramsey said, adding their status needs to be “at the top of the pile” in any agreement.
“The Iranian regime has a long and shameful history of unjustly detaining US nationals and other foreign citizens,” a State Department spokesperson told The Post.
“The Iranian regime should immediately release all Americans detained in Iran. Out of respect for their safety and security, we have nothing further to share.”
“You have already demonstrated strong leadership in bringing more than 100 Americans home since January 2025. Your record shows that you act where others failed to even try,” the Hekmati family letter to Trump concludes.
“We urge you to act now to secure Kamran’s release. His family in Great Neck, New York is waiting for him. He deserves the chance to come home, receive treatment, and be reunited with those who love him.”
