Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday designated Iran as a "state sponsor of wrongful detention," saying the Islamist regime has continued "to cruelly detain innocent Americans" and citizens of other nations to use as political leverage.
"When the Iranian regime seized power 47 years ago, Ayatollah Khomeini consolidated his control of power by endorsing the hostage taking of U.S. embassy staff," Rubio said in a statement. "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 also warned that "no American should travel to Iran for any reason."
"We reiterate our call for Americans who are currently in Iran to leave immediately," he said.
President Donald Trump in September issued an executive order to strengthen efforts to protect Americans abroad from wrongful detention.
To codify the order, Congress passed the Countering Wrongful Detention Act of 2025, which was included in the National Defense Authorization Act for the 2026 fiscal year.
Trump signed that into law Dec. 23.
The bipartisan legislation created a new authority for the secretary of state to formally designate countries or nonstate actors as sponsors of unlawful or wrongful detention, creating a deterrent framework similar to the existing state sponsor of terrorism designation.
Once designated, the secretary of state can impose a range of penalties on those governments, including diplomatic and economic consequences.
The act directs the secretary of state to brief Congress on whether the following countries should be designated under this new authority: Afghanistan, Belarus, China, Eritrea, Iran, Nicaragua, Russia, Syria, and Venezuela.
Hostage Aid Worldwide reported last month that between five and eight Americans are being held hostage in 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 said. "We encourage it to do so."
Tensions between the U.S. and Iran have escalated amid talks between the nations regarding Tehran's nuclear program.
The sides held another round of talks Thursday in Geneva.
Trump said he was "not happy" with how the talks are going but that he'll "see what happens" after additional talks expected Friday.
The talks have come amid a massive U.S. military buildup in the region, including two carrier strike groups — the USS Gerald R. Ford and the USS Abraham Lincoln, bringing the U.S. Navy's presence in the region to at least 16 ships.
More than 100 fighter jets, including F-35s, F-22s, F-15s and F-16s, left bases in the U.S. and Europe and were spotted heading toward the Middle East by the Military Air Tracking Alliance, the Military Times reported.
The alliance also tracked more than 100 fuel tankers and 200 cargo planes heading into the region and bases in Europe in mid-February.
Adding to that force, the U.S. has moved 12 F-22s to a base in Israel, according to the Times, citing a U.S. official who spoke on condition of anonymity to detail sensitive military movements.
Trump has threatened to strike Iran if talks crumble but has said he prefers a diplomatic solution.
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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