Hostage diplomacy refers to the detention of foreign nationals by a government as a bargaining chip to secure policy changes, sanctions relief, prisoner exchanges, or financial concessions from the detainee's home country. Iran's 1979 seizure of U.S. embassy staff established the modern template; subsequent regimes including Russia, China, Venezuela, and North Korea have used similar tactics. The practice is condemned under international law, including Article 9 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which prohibits arbitrary detention. The U.S. "wrongful detention" designation framework was designed specifically to impose costs on governments that engage in this practice.