Donald Trump has signed an executive order allowing the government to impose sanctions and travel restrictions against any country holding US citizens that it designates as a “state sponsor of wrongful detention”.
Friday’s order from the president comes two weeks before world leaders are set to convene in New York City for the annual meeting of the UN General Assembly, raising the possibility that the administration could use it to bar certain foreign leaders from attending.
Officials declined to say whether the new restrictions would be placed immediately on specific countries, but they suggested that the Iranian government might be a prime target.