AT least six U.S. citizens or permanent residents are currently being detained in Iran, raising fears that they, along with potentially thousands of dual U.S.-Iranian nationals, could be used as political bargaining chips amid an intensifying military confrontation between the United States and Israel on one side, and Tehran on the other.
Reuters, on Tuesday, reported detainee advocates emphasised that Americans in Iran face a long-established risk of detention for political leverage.
"The regime's history of seeking to leverage Americans for political aims is long established," said Ryan Fayhee, a board member of the Foley Foundation advocacy group. "I would have to imagine that any American is potentially at risk."
The heightened danger follows the U.S. and Israeli air strikes on Iran early Saturday, which killed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and other senior officials, prompting retaliatory Iranian attacks across the region.
Kieran Ramsey, former FBI assistant director and head of the U.S. hostage recovery unit, noted that "there are hundreds, if not thousands, if not more, of dual nationals that are back there that still have familial ties despite the risks."
Iran does not recognise dual citizenship, leaving other governments unable to provide consular services or diplomatic protection to detained individuals. A U.S. State Department source confirmed that authorities do not have precise figures on the number of Americans remaining in the country.
At least six dual nationals or green-card holders are reported to be held in Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison, known for housing political prisoners and foreigners.
Among those detained are Shahab Dalili, a green-card holder arrested in 2016 on his way to the airport after attending his father’s funeral, and Reza Valizadeh, a journalist and dual citizen who was imprisoned in 2024 after visiting his elderly parents.
Both received ten-year sentences on charges of collaborating with a foreign government.
Kamran Hekmati, a 70-year-old Jewish Iranian-American, is also held in Evin Prison. Arrested last year, he was convicted for visiting Israel in violation of Iranian law, despite evidence that his last visit occurred 13 years earlier.
Hekmati, who suffers from bladder cancer, faces espionage charges, widely regarded by experts as a means of signalling that his release would require a negotiated exchange with Washington.
In a broader security assessment, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security warned that Iran and its proxies could target American interests following Khamenei’s death.
While large-scale attacks on U.S. soil are considered unlikely, the department highlighted the risk of targeted strikes and cyberattacks.
"Although a large-scale physical attack is unlikely, Iran and its proxies probably pose a persistent threat of targeted attacks in the Homeland, and will almost certainly escalate retaliatory actions—or calls to action—if reports of the Ayatollah's death are confirmed," the DHS report stated.
Authorities also remain alert to domestic incidents potentially linked to the conflict. Officials investigating a shooting at a bar in Austin, Texas, which killed at least two people on Sunday, noted the suspect was wearing an Iranian flag and a sweatshirt with religious markings, though investigators caution it is too early to establish motive.
As U.S. and Israeli operations continue, the fate of detained Americans remains a growing concern for advocates, diplomats, and policymakers, highlighting the precarious position of dual nationals and permanent residents in Iran amid one of the region’s most volatile escalations in recent years. - March 3, 2026
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