US Designates Iran as State Sponsor of Wrongful Detention

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that no American should travel to Iran and urged all Americans to leave the country immediately.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks at the 62nd Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany, on Feb. 14, 2026. Alex Brandon/Pool/AFP via Getty Images

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.”