US hostages in Iran face heightened risk as protests spread, experts say number held may exceed estimates

Fox News - WorldCenter-RightEN 5 min read 100% complete by Benjamin WeinthalJanuary 12, 2026 at 04:00 PM
US hostages in Iran face heightened risk as protests spread, experts say number held may exceed estimates

AI Summary

long article 5 min

A recent report indicates that Iran may be holding more American citizens and residents hostage than previously estimated. The report highlights the cases of Kamran Hekmati, a 70-year-old from New York arrested in July 2025 for visiting Israel in 2012, and Afarin Mohajer, a California resident arrested in September 2025 with a pre-existing brain tumor. Hekmati was sentenced to four years in prison, while Mohajer was released on bail but is barred from leaving Iran. The report also mentions an unnamed Iranian-American woman arrested in December 2024, who was released but also prevented from leaving the country. These cases raise concerns about the total number of Americans held in Iran and their well-being, especially given reports of harsh prison conditions.

Keywords

iran 100% us hostages 100% hostage-taking 80% dual citizenship 60% evin prison 60% travel ban 50% human rights 50% political prisoners 40%

Sentiment Analysis

Very Negative
Score: -0.70

Source Transparency

Source
Fox News - World
Political Lean
Center-Right (0.50)
Far LeftCenterFar Right
Classification Confidence
90%
Geographic Perspective
Iran

This article was automatically classified using rule-based analysis. The political bias score ranges from -1 (far left) to +1 (far right).

Topic Connections

Explore how the topics in this article connect to other news stories

No topic relationship data available yet. This graph will appear once topic relationships have been computed.
Explore Full Topic Graph