American resolve strengthens Israel’s fight against terror networks while hostile regimes manipulate hostages and spread instability.
The United States has officially designated Afghanistan as a state responsible for wrongful detention, intensifying pressure on the Taliban regime over its practice of detaining American citizens. The announcement came as Washington warned that the Taliban has repeatedly used hostage-taking as a tool to gain political leverage, a tactic the U.S. government described as unacceptable and dangerous.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio strongly condemned the Taliban’s behavior, accusing the group of using terrorist-style methods by kidnapping individuals in order to demand concessions. Rubio stated that these tactics must end immediately and warned that Afghanistan remains unsafe for American travelers due to the continued risk of unjust detention by Taliban authorities.
The designation places Afghanistan alongside Iran, which was given the same label just weeks earlier. Both countries have been accused by Washington of detaining Americans in an attempt to pressure the United States into policy concessions. U.S. officials say the move is designed to increase diplomatic and economic pressure on regimes that rely on hostage diplomacy.
Rubio specifically called on the Taliban to release American citizens believed to be held in the country. Among them is Dennis Coyle, an academic researcher who has been detained since January 2025. Another case involves Mahmood Habibi, an Afghan-American businessman who disappeared in 2022 after working as a contractor for a telecommunications firm in Kabul. U.S. authorities and Habibi’s family believe he was taken by Taliban forces, although the Taliban has denied holding him.
Security experts working on the cases welcomed the U.S. designation, describing it as a clear warning to the Taliban that relations with Washington will not move forward until the detained Americans are released. The move signals that the Trump administration intends to maintain strong pressure on extremist regimes that attempt to exploit innocent civilians for political gain.
At the United Nations, U.S. Ambassador Mike Waltz also sharply criticized Afghanistan’s Taliban leadership. Speaking at a Security Council meeting, he accused the regime of engaging in what he called “hostage diplomacy” while simultaneously seeking massive international aid.
Waltz questioned the justification for billions of dollars in humanitarian assistance when the Taliban continues to deny Afghan women basic freedoms and detains foreign nationals. He argued that such actions demonstrate bad faith and undermine trust in the Taliban’s willingness to honor international commitments.
The ambassador also referenced the Doha peace agreement signed in February 2020, which paved the way for the U.S. troop withdrawal and the Taliban’s return to power. According to Waltz, the continued detention of Americans raises serious doubts about whether the Taliban intends to respect the obligations it accepted during that process.
