WASHINGTON — In a significant escalation of diplomatic pressure, the U.S. State Department has officially designated Afghanistan as a “sponsor of wrongful detention,” formally accusing the Taliban-led government of engaging in “hostage diplomacy” by detaining American citizens to extract political concessions .
The announcement, made on Monday by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, places Afghanistan on a blacklist created under a 2020 executive order. It joins Iran, which received the same designation on February 27—just one day before the U.S. and Israel launched strikes against the Islamic Republic amid escalating conflict in the Middle East .
“The Taliban continues to use terrorist tactics, kidnapping individuals for ransom or to seek policy concessions. These despicable tactics need to end,” Secretary Rubio said in a stark statement. “It is not safe for Americans to travel to Afghanistan because the Taliban continues to unjustly detain our fellow Americans and other foreign nationals” .
The Cases of Detained Americans
Rubio specifically called on the Taliban to release two American citizens. Dennis Coyle, an academic researcher, has been detained in the country without charges since January 2025. Mahmood Habibi, an Afghan American businessman and former director of Afghanistan’s civil aviation authority, vanished in Kabul in August 2022 .
While the FBI and Habibi’s family assert he was taken by the Taliban’s General Directorate of Intelligence, the Taliban has consistently denied holding him. The State Department has reportedly offered a $5 million reward for information leading to his safe return . According to Reuters, the U.S. is also demanding the return of the remains of Paul Overby, an author who disappeared near the Afghanistan-Pakistan border in 2014 .
Parallel UN Accusations and Aid Scrutiny
The designation coincided with a forceful critique at the United Nations. U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Mike Waltz separately accused Afghanistan’s leaders of “hostage diplomacy” during a Security Council meeting, pointing to the detention of innocent Americans as evidence of “bad faith” .
Ambassador Waltz also questioned the morality of channeling humanitarian aid to Afghanistan while the Taliban imposes severe restrictions on women. “This council must consider carefully the funds we collectively provide for this mission’s budget, when the mission’s female national staff are not even able to go into the office to work,” Waltz stated, casting doubt on the $1 billion in humanitarian aid currently sought for the country .
Potential Sanctions and Travel Restrictions
The designation is designed to ramp up pressure on the Taliban. According to sources familiar with the matter, the State Department is considering restricting the use of U.S. passports for travel to Afghanistan—a measure currently only in place for North Korea . Experts suggest the move is a clear message from the Trump administration that normalization of relations is impossible while Americans are detained .
Taliban Responds: ‘Regrettable’ but ‘Constructive’
In response, the Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kabul rejected the allegations, calling the U.S. designation “regrettable.” In a statement released Tuesday, the ministry insisted that foreign nationals are detained for violating Afghan law, not for political leverage .
“The government of Afghanistan underscores that no foreign nationals have been detained for purposes of a deal,” the ministry said. “Certain individuals have been detained on charges of violating established laws, and in many instances, they have been released in the normal course following the completion of legal procedures” .
Despite the public rebuke, the Taliban described ongoing diplomatic discussions with the U.S. as “constructive.” This follows a proposal made by the Taliban in July 2025, suggesting a potential exchange of Americans detained in Afghanistan for Afghans held at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp .
