Trump administration calls Iran a sponsor of unjust detentions

On Friday, the Trump administration formally designated Iran as a state sponsor of wrongful detentions. increasing pressure on Tehran at a time of growing military tensions and babbling diplomacy.

The designation, announced by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, activates authorities created under a executive order signed in September that expanded the government’s ability to penalize countries accused of detaining Americans for their political bargaining power. This is the first time a country has been formally labeled under that framework.

“For decades, Iran has continued to callously 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 unjust detention policies. The authorities rely in part on tools used in terrorism-related designations, but are legally distinct. The United States has already designated Iran as a state sponsor of terrorism since 1984, during the Reagan administration.

In addition to financial sanctions, 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 sponsoring wrongful detentions. Officials previously described travel authorities as one of the most powerful deterrents available, intended both to protect Americans from high-risk environments and to increase pressure on governments that detain American citizens.

Imposing travel restrictions on Iran could create obstacles to travel to the country for U.S. passport holders 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 hostages and release all Americans wrongfully detained in Iran, actions that could end this designation and associated actions,” Rubio’s statement said.

The Iranian diaspora living in the United States is estimated to number more than 600,000, according to the UCLA Center for Near Eastern Studies, all of whom could be significantly affected by the imposition of increased travel restrictions on Iran.

The formal designation comes as nuclear and security talks between Washington and Tehran in Geneva ended this week without an agreement on key issues, including limits on uranium enrichment and sanctions relief. Technical teams from both sides are expected to meet again on Monday in Vienna, where the International Atomic Energy Agency is based.

The State Department authorized non-emergency personnel and their family members to leave Israel on Friday, citing unspecified “security risks.” Deputy spokesman Tommy Piggott also announced that Rubio would travel to Israel March 2-3 to discuss Iran, Lebanon and President Trump’s 20-point peace plan for Gaza.

Friday’s designation also comes against the backdrop of high-profile detention cases that have intensified scrutiny of Iran’s practices.

Among them is the case by Reza Valizadeh, an Iranian-American journalist who was recently detained in Iran in circumstances that U.S. officials and advocates have raised as part of broader concerns about politically motivated arrests against alleged critics of the regime. Valizadeh is one of at least four Iranian-Americans believed to be detained in Iran, including Kamran Hekmati, 70, and at least one other woman in her seventies, sources familiar with the matter told News themezone.

U.S. officials are also weighing applying the label to Afghanistan, which is also known to be tenure at least two American citizens.