US threatens Taliban: Taking Americans hostage will have severe consequences.
Washington’s clear message is that taking American citizens hostage, especially by the Taliban, will no longer be free of cost.
The US Embassy in Afghanistan, which operates from Qatar, has announced that Donald Trump’s new executive order to prevent the wrongful detention of American citizens abroad has been implemented.
The order warns that groups or governments will face “severe consequences” if they use American citizens as bargaining chips.
The White House has stressed in a statement that wrongful detentions are an affront to the rule of law and an attempt to undermine American leadership on the world stage, and that Washington will not tolerate such aggressive actions.
US officials have specifically identified the Taliban, Iran and China among the countries and groups involved in “hostage diplomacy” and have warned that such behavior will cost them dearly.
The warnings come as the Taliban have held several American citizens in their prisons in recent years and used them as bargaining chips.
Two American citizens were released in January 2025 and two others in March of the same year after prisoner exchange agreements with the Taliban.
Currently, Mahmud Shah Habibi, an American-Afghan citizen, remains in Taliban custody, and the United States has offered a $5 million reward for his capture.
