The U.S. State Department on Friday designated Iran a state sponsor of wrongful detention, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Iran must stop taking hostages and release all unjustly detained Americans to end the designation. “No American should travel to Iran for any reason,” Rubio said, urging U.S. citizens currently in Iran to leave immediately.
“Today I designated Iran as a state sponsor of wrongful detention,” Rubio said in a statement. He accused Tehran of using foreigners as leverage for decades, a practice that dates back to the 1979 Islamic revolution.
“When the Iranian regime seized power 47 years ago, Ayatollah Khomeini strengthened his control of power by supporting the hostage-taking of U.S. embassy staff,” Rubio said. “For decades, Iran has brutally detained innocent Americans and citizens of other countries to exert political influence over them. This abhorrent practice must end.”
The move follows an executive order issued by President Donald Trump last fall to protect Americans from wrongful detention abroad. Congress subsequently enacted the Countering Wrongful Detention Act of 2025, authorizing the State Department to apply the designation.
Rubio warned that additional measures could follow if Iran does not change course. “If Iran does not stop, we will have to consider additional measures, including potential geographic travel restrictions on the use of U.S. passports,” he said.
Rubio added, “The Iranian regime must stop taking hostages and release all Americans unjustly detained in Iran, a step that could end this designation and related actions.” “We encourage that.”
The announcement comes amid heightened tensions between Washington and Tehran. The two countries held talks over Iran’s nuclear program on Thursday, but President Trump later expressed disappointment with the deal, saying “sometimes we have to use force.”
Iran has previously dismissed US charges of hostage diplomacy, saying the detainees are being held under its own judicial system on legitimate charges.
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