Joss Stone has been deported from Iran, the singer said on Instagram.
The British pop artist was due to visit but not publicly perform in the country as part of a world tour that she hoped would take in every country on the globe.
Iran was the last stop for Stone, 32, who performed in Saudi Arabia last week.
But on her arrival, she said she was detained, added to a "black list" and deported after a discussion about whether to keep her and her crew detained overnight.
In an Instagram post shared from Kish Airport on Wednesday, Stone said she had been aware that she could not perform because of laws against women singing to a mixed audience.
"Personally, I don’t fancy going to an Iranian prison, nor am I trying to change the politics of the countries I visit, nor do I wish to put other people in danger," she wrote.
Iran strictly enforces its rules against female performers. In May, Iranian singer Negar Moazzam was summoned to court for singing to tourists in the village of Abyaneh.
This year Hamid Askari's music was banned by religious authorities after his female guitarist Negin Parsa sang a solo at the end of a song at Tehran's Milad Tower Musi.
Stone said authorities did not believe she was not planning a performance and softened when a translator helped her to tell immigration guards about her world tour.
"I told them my story and explained my mission, to bring good feeling with what I have to give and show those who want to look the positives of our globe, all with the understanding that public performance wasn’t an option in this scenario," she said.
"I still have to walk forward towards that goal some way, somehow. And of course music is my driver. Doesn’t mean we have to break any laws, though.
"There is music everywhere, even here. We just have to play by their rules and they have to believe we will. It’s a trust thing."
Stone said the immigration officers treated her well and apologised for the inconvenience.
"We were the ones that should have been apologising for not having our correct paperwork," she wrote.
