Risks of arrest in Iran

The Department of State continues to warn US citizens to carefully consider the risks of travel to Iran. 

Some elements in Iran remain hostile to the United States. As a result, US citizens may be subject to harassment or arrest while traveling in Iran. Iranian authorities also have unjustly detained or imprisoned US citizens on various charges, including espionage and posing a threat to national security. Iranian authorities have prevented the departure, in some cases for several months, of a number of dual national Iranian-American citizens.

The Iranian government continues to repress some minority religious and ethnic groups, including Christians, Baha’i, Arabs, Kurds, Azeris and others. Consequently, some areas within the country where these minorities reside, including the Balu­chistan border area near Pakistan and Afghanistan, the Kurdish northwest of the country and areas near the Iraqi border, remain unsafe. 

Former Muslims who have converted to other religions, along with religious activists and persons who encourage Muslims to convert, are subject to arrest and prosecution.