Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Feb. 27, 2026, designated Iran as a State Sponsor of Wrongful Detention and urged Americans in the country to “leave immediately.”
Rubio also said Americans should not travel to Iran “for any reason,” and warned that the U.S. may consider additional steps if Tehran does not stop detaining Americans and other foreign nationals for political leverage.
The designation gives the Trump administration a formal framework to escalate pressure on Iran over detentions, at a time when U.S.-Iran tensions are rising and diplomacy has not produced a broader breakthrough.
What the State Sponsor of Wrongful Detention designation does
The State Sponsor of Wrongful Detention framework was created by an executive order President Trump signed on Sept. 5, 2025, titled Strengthening Efforts to Protect U.S. Nationals from Wrongful Detention Abroad. The order authorizes the secretary of state to designate a country when its government directly engages in or supports the wrongful detention of a U.S. national, or when it fails to release a U.S. national after U.S. notification, among other criteria.
Once a country is designated, the executive order directs the State Department to review and apply available tools, which can include economic sanctions under existing authorities, visa-related consequences, limits on assistance, export restrictions, and other measures laid out in the order.
Rubio said Congress later enacted the Countering Wrongful Detention Act of 2025, legislation that expands and formalizes parts of the policy approach. In the bill text, the act amends the Robert Levinson Hostage Recovery and Hostage-Taking Accountability Act and creates statutory language on designating a foreign country as a state sponsor of unlawful or wrongful detention, including timelines tied to notification and release.
The administration’s step on Feb. 27, 2026, applies this framework to Iran, which the U.S. has also long labeled a state sponsor of terrorism under a separate, older designation.
Rubio’s justification and the hostage-taking history he cited
In his public statement announcing the State Sponsor of Wrongful Detention designation, Rubio pointed to Iran’s record of taking Americans hostage dating back to the 1979 seizure of U.S. Embassy staff after Iran’s revolution. Rubio said Iran has continued to detain innocent Americans and citizens of other nations to use as leverage against other states.
Rubio’s stated goal was to force a change in Iran’s behavior. He said Iran must stop taking hostages and release Americans “unjustly detained” in Iran, steps that could end the designation and the actions linked to it.
Iran has repeatedly rejected U.S. claims that it detains people as bargaining chips, and Iranian officials have often characterized high-profile arrests as law enforcement and national security matters. The U.S. government, by contrast, has frequently argued that certain detentions meet the definition of wrongful detention and are used to extract concessions.
The travel warning and possible U.S. passport restrictions
Rubio’s message was not limited to sanctions and diplomatic pressure. He also repeated a blunt warning to Americans: do not travel to Iran, and those currently in Iran should leave immediately.
Rubio said the U.S. could consider additional measures if Iran does not stop, including a geographic travel restriction on the use of U.S. passports “to, through, or from Iran.” The Sept. 5, 2025, executive order explicitly contemplates geographic travel restrictions as one of the available responses after a designation, referencing passport authorities and regulations.
If such restrictions are implemented, they could limit Americans’ ability to travel to Iran using a U.S. passport unless a specific validation or exception applies. The State Department has used similar passport-based restrictions in the past for certain destinations.
This is not legal advice. Americans who are in Iran, or considering travel, should consult the State Department’s latest guidance and any passport restriction notices before making travel decisions.
