The US State Department on Monday called Afghanistan a “state sponsor of improper detention”, with Secretary of State Macro Rubio accusing the Taliban of deploying “heinous tactics”.
“The Taliban continue to use terrorist tactics, kidnapping individuals for ransom or seeking political concessions. These despicable tactics must stop,” Rubio said in a statement, adding, “It is not safe for Americans to travel to Afghanistan as the Taliban continues to unjustly detain our fellow Americans and other foreign nationals.”
The foreign minister also called on the Taliban to release two Americans believed to be in its custody.
In particular, Rubio called for the release of Dennis Coyle, an academic researcher detained in the country since January 2025, and Mahmood Habibi, an Afghan-American businessman who worked as a contractor for a Kabul-based company and disappeared in 2022.
The move comes just a week after Iran became the first country to be added to Washington’s “improper detention” list created by President Donald Trump in September.
Iran was listed for its “heinous” actions, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio saying, “The Iranian regime cruelly detains innocent Americans and citizens of other countries to use them as political leverage. Iran must end this heinous practice and immediately release all unjustly detained Americans.”
Taliban actions show ‘bad faith’
In parallel, US Ambassador to the UN Mark Waltz on Monday accused the Taliban of engaging in “hostage diplomacy”, pointing to the detention of Americans.
According to an AP report, Waltz questioned the $1 billion in humanitarian aid that Afghanistan is seeking and told a UN Security Council meeting that the Taliban’s actions “demonstrate bad faith” and made the US “deeply skeptical of its willingness to fulfill its international obligations or respect Afghanistan’s international obligations.”
The U.S. ambassador to the U.N. also said that concerns about Kabul not living up to commitments related to the Doha peace accord Trump signed with the Taliban in February 2020 prompted the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan and the Taliban’s takeover of the country.
(With input from agencies)
