The Trump administration on Friday formally designated Iran as a state sponsor of wrongful detention, escalating pressure on Tehran at a moment of mounting military tensions and sputtering diplomacy.
The designation, announced by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, activates authorities created under an executive order signed in September that expanded the government’s ability to penalize countries accused of detaining Americans for political bargaining power. This is the first time a country has been formally labeled under that framework.
“For decades, Iran has continued to cruelly detain innocent Americans, as well as citizens of other nations, to use as political leverage against other states,” Rubio said in a statement. “This abhorrent practice must end.”
Under the new order, Rubio is empowered to impose a range of measures, including economic sanctions, export controls and visa restrictions targeting individuals or entities linked to wrongful detention policies. The authorities are modeled in part on tools used in terrorism-related designations but are legally distinct. The United States has already designated Iran a state sponsor of terrorism since 1984, during the Reagan administration.
In addition to financial penalties, the executive order authorizes the State Department to impose travel restrictions on U.S. passport holders — potentially limiting or prohibiting travel to countries designated as sponsors of wrongful detention. Officials previously described travel authorities as among the most powerful deterrents available, aimed both at protecting Americans from high-risk environments and increasing pressure on governments that detain U.S. nationals.
Imposing travel restrictions in Iran could raise obstacles to travel to the country by U.S. passport holders that are similar to those faced by travelers to North Korea. U.S. passports cannot be used in North Korea unless they are specifically validated for travel by the secretary of state.
“The Iranian regime must stop taking hostage and release all Americans unjustly detained in Iran, steps that could end this designation and associated actions,” Rubio’s statement said.
The Iranian diaspora living in the United States is estimated to number over 600,000, according to the UCLA Center for Near East Studies — all of whom could be significantly affected by the imposition of expanded travel restrictions to Iran.
The formal designation comes as nuclear and security talks between Washington and Tehran in Geneva ended this week without agreement on key issues, including uranium enrichment limits and sanctions relief. On Monday, technical teams from both sides are expected to reconvene in Vienna, where the International Atomic Energy Agency is headquartered.
The State Department authorized non-emergency personnel and their family members to depart Israel on Friday, citing unspecified “safety risks.” Deputy spokesperson Tommy Piggott also announced that Rubio would travel to Israel from March 2-3 to discuss Iran, Lebanon, and President Trump’s 20-point peace plan for Gaza.
Friday’s designation also lands against the backdrop of high-profile detention cases that have intensified scrutiny of Iran’s practices.
Among them is the case of Reza Valizadeh, an Iranian-American journalist who was recently detained in Iran under circumstances that U.S. officials and advocates have raised as part of broader concerns about politically motivated arrests targeting perceived critics of the regime. Valizadeh is one of at least four Iranian-Americans believed to be held in Iran, including 70-year-old Kamran Hekmati and at least one other woman in her seventies, sources familiar with the matter have told CBS News.
U.S. officials are also weighing the application of the label to Afghanistan, which is also known to be holding at least two American citizens.
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