The Trump administration on Friday formally designated Iran as a state sponsor of wrongful detention, the latest move to ratchet up pressure and penalize Iran for its historical past of imprisoning US residents.
It is the primary such designation underneath an executive order signed last September meant to discourage international locations from illegally detaining US residents and encourage them to launch wrongful detainees they’ve in custody. The announcement from US Secretary of State Marco Rubio comes as the Trump administration is urgent for a new nuclear cope with Iran and has threatened to launch navy motion towards the nation.
“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,” Rubio mentioned in a assertion.
Rubio warned that if Iran doesn’t cease detaining Americans, “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.”
There is such a journey restriction in place for North Korea. The US doesn’t permit its residents to journey to North Korea on US passports with out an accepted exception, and in these instances, the State Department points a “special validation passport.”
“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,” Rubio mentioned Friday.
Iran has a historical past of wrongfully detaining Americans. In September 2023, the Biden administration secured the discharge of 5 Americans – all of whom had been imprisoned for years – as half of a wider cope with Iran.
There is one American who has been designated as wrongfully detained presently imprisoned in Iran: Reza Valizadeh. Valizadeh, an Iranian-American journalist, had labored in exile for Persian language shops, together with the US-funded Radio Farda. He returned to Iran in March 2024 to go to his aged mother and father and was arrested in September of that yr.
Concerns have mounted about his well-being within the years since his imprisonment. His brother mentioned in September 2025 that Valizadeh has bronchial asthma that has “deteriorated dramatically.”
Ryan Fayhee, a US-based legal professional engaged on Valizadeh’s case, mentioned he’s hopeful that the state sponsor of wrongful detention designation will have an effect, “particularly given the travel restrictions and the like that come with this.”
“Do I think this will free Reza? No, I don’t think it will, unfortunately. But do I believe it’s helpful? Yes,” he advised NCS.
Another American imprisoned in Iran is Kamran Hekmati, who was arrested final yr and sentenced to jail time by Iranian authorities for visiting Israel greater than a decade in the past for his son’s bar mitzvah, in keeping with relations who spoke to NCS.
The 70-year-old Hekmati is affected by bladder most cancers and is presently detained in Tehran’s infamous Evin Prison. Although an enchantment has been filed, his household has severe issues about his well being.
The administration might apply the designation to different international locations sooner or later, such as Afghanistan or Russia, the place US residents stay detained.