Afghanistan's ruling Taliban released another U.S. citizen from custody on Sunday after a visit by Washington's hostage envoy Adam Boehler, the U.S. government said.
Amir Amiri, who had been detained in Afghanistan since December 2024, was released through Qatari mediation and was on his way to Doha on Sunday evening (28 September), an official source told Reuters, asking not to be identified by name or nationality.
Boehler's visit came a week after U.S. President Donald Trump urged the Taliban to give back control of Bagram air base to the United States, threatening "bad things" would happen to Afghanistan if it does not.
Amiri was the fifth U.S. citizen freed by the Taliban this year thanks to Qatari mediation, along with a British couple held for eight months, the source said.
"I want to thank Qatar for helping secure his freedom," U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on X, confirming the release.
"POTUS (the president) has made it clear we will not stop until every American unjustly detained abroad is back home."
In a statement, the brother of still-detained Ahmad Habibi said that he has received repeated assurances from the administration that any deal with the Taliban would be an "all or nothing" agreement and Habibi would not be left behind.
"The Biden Administration did nothing for us. We have faith in President Trump," Ahmad's brother, Mahmood Habibi, said.
Afghanistan's Taliban government denies it detained Habibi, who was a former head of Afghanistan's civil aviation.
The Bagram base targeted by Trump was used by U.S. forces after the 11 September, 2001, attacks on the United States. It was among bases the Islamist Taliban movement took over after the withdrawal of American forces in 2021 and toppling of the U.S.-backed government in Kabul.
Trump's goal of re-occupying Bagram air base in Afghanistan might end up looking like a re-invasion of the country, requiring more than 10,000 troops as well as deployment of advanced air defenses, officials have told Reuters.
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Global oil prices reached a four year high on Monday (9 March), surpassing $119 a barrel, as conflict in the Middle East rumbled on. Meanwhile, the Turkish Military said NATO air defence systems destroyed a missile fired from Iran towards the country.
Global oil prices surpassed $119 a barrel on Monday (9 March, 2026), an almost four year high, as the Middle East conflict rumbled on.
China has urged Afghanistan and Pakistan to resolve their dispute through dialogue after Chinese envoy Yue Xiaoyong met Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi, as fighting between the two neighbours entered its eleventh day.
Iranian civilian and military officials have pledged their obedience to the new leader, Ayatollah Seyed Mojtaba Khamenei, with President Masoud Pezeshkian saying his leadership “will herald a new era of dignity and authority for the Iranian nation.”.
Mojtaba Khamenei, son of the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is a hardline cleric with strong backing from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. His rise signals continuity in Tehran's anti-Western policies.
Trump says the United States "don’t need people that join wars after we’ve already won," targeting his criticism at UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer. Israel continues to fire missles at strategic sites in Iran and Gulf regions report more strikes from Iran.
Global oil prices surpassed $119 a barrel on Monday (9 March, 2026), an almost four year high, as the Middle East conflict rumbled on.
Iran named Mojtaba Khamenei to succeed his father Ali Khamenei as supreme leader on Monday (9 March), signaling that hardliners remain firmly in charge, as the week-old U.S.-Israeli war with Iran pushed oil above $100 a barrel.
Entry and exit across the state border between Azerbaijan and Iran for all types of cargo vehicles, including those in transit, will resume on 9 March, according to a statement by the Cabinet of Ministers of Azerbaijan.
U.S. President Donald Trump and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer spoke by phone on Sunday as tensions between Washington and Westminster deepened over the conflict involving Iran. The call came less than a day after Trump criticised Britain’s response to U.S. strikes on Iranian targets.
Norwegian police are searching for a suspect after an explosion at the U.S. embassy in Oslo on 8 March caused minor damage but no injuries, in what authorities say may have been a deliberate attack linked to the Middle East crisis.
An explosion damaged a synagogue in the Belgian city of Liège early on Monday (9 March) in what authorities said was an antisemitic attack that caused damage but no injuries.
The Group of Seven (G7) finance ministers will meet on Monday to discuss a global rise in oil prices and a joint release of oil from emergency reserves coordinated by the International Energy Agency, the Financial Times reports.
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