Since 2009, Iranian authorities have prevented the departure of a number of Iranian-American citizens, including journalists and academics, who traveled to Iran for personal or professional reasons, in some cases for several months. Iranian authorities also have unjustly detained or imprisoned U.S. citizens on various charges, including espionage and posing a threat to national security. U.S. citizens of Iranian origin should consider the risk of being targeted by authorities before planning travel to Iran. Iranian authorities deny the U.S. Interests Section in Tehran access to imprisoned dual nationals because Iranian authorities consider them to be solely Iranian citizens; access to U.S. citizens is often denied as well.