New Delhi, Feb. 28 -- US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement on Friday that the State Department had designated Iran as a "State Sponsor of Wrongful Detention."

Rubio said for decades Iran has wrongfully detained Americans and citizens of other nations "to use as political leverage against other states."

He said the US could consider additional measures, including a potential "geographic travel restriction on the use of US passports to, through, or from Iran."

"Today I designated Iran as a State Sponsor of Wrongful Detention. For decades the Iranian regime has cruelly detained innocent Americans and citizens of other nations to use as political leverage. Iran must end this abhorrent practice and immediately free all unju...