US Designates Iran as State Sponsor of Wrongful Detention

Iran was designated as a state sponsor of wrongful detention on Feb. 27, according to a statement by the State Department.

“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,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote in a statement on Friday. “This abhorrent practice must end.”

Rubio warned that if Iran does not stop detaining Americans abroad, the United States will consider additional measures, which could include 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,” Rubio added.

“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.”

The State Department issued a Level 4: Do Not Travel advisory for Iran on Dec. 5, 2025, due to the risk of terrorism, unrest, kidnapping, arbitrary arrest of U.S. citizens, and wrongful detention.

A Level 4 advisory is the highest warning level issued by the State Department.

“As @SecRubio has said, anyone who uses an American as a bargaining chip will pay the price,” the State Department’s Assistant Secretary for Consular Affairs Mora Namdar reiterated in an X post on Friday.

Friday’s announcement was made hours after President Donald Trump said he is not pleased with how nuclear negotiations with Iran have been progressing.

“I’m not happy with the fact that they’re not willing to give us what we have to have,” Trump told members of the media at the White House before he flew to Texas. “I’m not thrilled with that. We’ll see what happens. We’re talking later.”

Trump suggested his team is pushing for a diplomatic path forward with the regime, but didn’t rule out the use of force.

“It’d be nice if we could do it without [the military], but sometimes you have to do it with,” Trump said. “We have the greatest military anywhere in the world. There’s nothing close. I’d love not to use it, but sometimes you have to.”

Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), who serves as a ranking member on the Senate Armed Services Committee, heavily criticized Trump’s approach to nuclear talks with Iran.

“Pres. Trump’s saber-rattling for war with Iran is taking the country down a dangerous path without a clear strategy or endgame,” Reed wrote in a Feb. 27 post on X. “And that puts U.S. national security at considerable risk.”

Democrats have urged Trump to consult with Congress before taking any potential military action against Iran.

Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) said he has prepared a war powers resolution which could be up for a vote in the Senate next week.