The U.S. State Department has updated its Iran travel advisory to “Level 4-Do Not Travel,” the maximum level of caution, adding the risks of terrorism and surrogacy tourism to the list of reasons why U.S. citizens must not travel to the Middle Eastern nation.
Several violent extremist groups operate in Iran, with ISIS and its affiliated organizations claiming responsibility for bombings in the country, the July 15 advisory said.
“The threat of terrorist activity persists, as does the risk of death or injury to bystanders,” it said.
The State Department said that Iranian companies offering surrogacy services are misrepresenting the security situation in the country as well as the risks of an unregulated surrogacy industry.
“Private companies that arrange such visits and services put U.S. citizens in danger,” the advisory said.
The travel advisory also warns of potential “civil unrest, kidnapping and the arbitrary arrest of U.S. citizens” in the country.
“Iranian authorities continue to unjustly detain and imprison U.S. nationals, particularly dual national U.S.–Iranian nationals—including students, journalists, business travelers, and academics—on charges including espionage and posing a threat to national security,” the advisory said.
“The U.S. government does not have diplomatic or consular relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran. The U.S. government is unable to provide routine or emergency consular services to U.S. citizens in Iran.”
American women married to Iranian nationals are also at risk as the Iranian civil code says that such people acquire Iranian nationality, according to the State Department’s travel page on Iran. If the marriage takes place in Iran, authorities can confiscate the woman’s U.S. passport.
A woman would also have to gain her husband’s consent to leave Iran. In the absence of her husband’s consent, the woman has to gain consent from another suitable authority.
Iran’s Hostage Diplomacy
The Iranian regime’s kidnapping of U.S. citizens was a hot topic last year when the Biden administration decided to pay $6 billion in exchange for releasing five U.S. hostages. The $6 billion came from Iranian assets that were held in South Korea.Human rights activists criticized the deal.
“The Biden administration has given the Islamic Regime a $6 billion cash lifeline, enabling them to continue funding terrorism and oppressing the people of Iran. The blood of the Iranian people is on Biden’s hands,” Sarah Raviani, an Iranian American human rights advocate, said in an Aug. 10, 2023, X post.
A senior Biden administration official justified the deal at the time, stating that when the government has an opportunity to bring captured Americans back home, it seeks to “seize it.”
The official clarified that Washington continues to see Iran as a sponsor of terror and an adversary.
“To be blunt, no American should travel to Iran for any reason. No American citizen or dual citizen—it doesn’t matter: Do not travel to Iran,” the official said.
