Afghanistan announced on Sunday the release of a U.S. citizen, a development confirmed by both the State Department and Afghanistan’s foreign ministry. This action comes weeks after the Taliban and the Trump administration reportedly reached an agreement concerning prisoner exchanges.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio publicly welcomed the return of Amir Amiry, a U.S. citizen who had been wrongfully detained in Afghanistan. He emphasized that while this release is a positive development, several other Americans remain unjustly held in the country.
Both the Afghan and U.S. governments extended gratitude to Qatar for its crucial mediation efforts in securing Amiry’s release. Despite this progress, U.S. officials, who requested anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the discussions, confirmed that at least three other Americans are still in Taliban custody.
The circumstances surrounding Mr. Amiry’s presence and detention in Afghanistan remain largely unknown, as the Taliban has historically been reticent about the arrests of foreign nationals.
Since seizing power in 2021, the Taliban has actively sought diplomatic avenues to attract much-needed investment for its struggling economy and to break free from the international isolation it has faced.
However, these efforts have yielded limited results to date. Taliban officials were notably barred from attending the United Nations General Assembly last week, and Russia remains the sole country to formally recognize the group as Afghanistan’s legitimate authority.
The United States has maintained minimal public engagement with Afghanistan following the Taliban takeover, largely restricting interactions to hostage negotiations. Yet, in a surprising declaration this month, President Trump stated that the U.S. was working to regain control of Bagram Air Base near Kabul, a facility it occupied for nearly two decades until 2021.
It’s important to note that the 2020 agreement signed between the United States and the Taliban during the first Trump administration stipulated a complete withdrawal of all U.S. military forces from Afghanistan, with no provisions for retaining Bagram Air Base or any other strategic outpost.
Nevertheless, after the Taliban rejected Mr. Trump’s assertions regarding the Bagram base, he issued a warning on social media, suggesting that “bad things” would ensue if they did not comply.
Mr. Amiry’s release coincided with a meeting in Kabul on Sunday between Afghanistan’s foreign minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, and Adam Boehler, President Trump’s special envoy for hostage affairs—their second encounter this month.
Among the remaining U.S. citizens held in Afghanistan is Mahmood Habibi, who has been detained since August 2022.
Ahmad Habibi, Mahmood’s brother, expressed renewed hope, stating, “We have faith in President Trump,” while welcoming Mr. Amiry’s release.
He further added, “We are grateful that senior officials at the State Department and National Security Council have repeatedly assured us that any deal they do with the Taliban will be ‘all or nothing’ and they have explicitly assured us that they will not leave my brother behind.”
According to the White House, at least three U.S. citizens have been freed from Taliban detention under the second Trump administration. This includes George Glezmann, an American held for over two years and released in March, and two others, Ryan Corbett and William McKenty, who were freed on the night of Mr. Trump’s inauguration.
Additionally, in mid-September, the Taliban also released a British couple who had been held since February.