Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced on February 27, 2026, that the United States has designated Iran as a State Sponsor of Wrongful Detention, citing the regime’s decades-long practice of detaining Americans and other foreign nationals as political leverage, dating back to the 1979 hostage crisis. Rubio said the move follows an executive order by President Trump and the Countering Wrongful Detention Act of 2025, and warned that additional measures, including possible travel restrictions on U.S. passport use related to Iran, could follow if the practice continues. He called on Iran to release all unjustly detained Americans and urged U.S. citizens not to travel to Iran and to leave immediately if currently there.
Below is the full text of the statement.
Today, I am designating Iran as a State Sponsor of Wrongful Detention. When the Iranian regime seized power 47 years ago, Ayatollah Khomeini consolidated his control of power by endorsing the hostage taking of U.S. embassy staff. 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. This abhorrent practice must end.
President Trump issued an Executive Order to Protect U.S. Nationals from Wrongful Detention Abroad last fall and Congress subsequently enacted the Countering Wrongful Detention Act of 2025, authorizing the Department to designate Iran as a State Sponsor of Wrongful Detention. If Iran does not stop, we will be forced to consider additional measures, including a potential geographic travel restriction on the use of U.S. passports to, through, or from Iran.
The Iranian regime must stop taking hostages and release all Americans unjustly detained in Iran, steps that could end this designation and associated actions. We encourage it to do so. No American should travel to Iran for any reason. We reiterate our call for Americans who are currently in Iran to leave immediately.
Source: “Iran Designated as a State Sponsor of Wrongful Detention,” U.S. Department of States, (February 27, 2026).