By Abdul Hamid Hakimi
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
September 12, 2026
The US State Department has urged American companies to exercise extreme caution when considering business transactions with Taliban-ruled Afghanistan after a former US official attended the signing of a deal between a Saudi energy group and the hard-line authorities.
A US State Department spokesperson, who spoke on condition of anonymity, confirmed the warning to RFE/RL, adding that private companies interested in doing business in Afghanistan should ensure their transactions comply with applicable US laws and regulations as the Taliban is on the list of Designated Global Terrorist Groups (SDGT).
The warning comes after a visit to Afghanistan earlier this week by Zalmay Khalilzad, who was US special envoy to Afghanistan from 2018 to 2021. Khalilzad was in Kabul on September 7 for the signing of a Saudi oil and gas deal and he also met with the Taliban’s foreign minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi.
The trip, which came on the eve of the 25th anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks, raised eyebrows as the United States does not recognize the Taliban as the legitimate government of Afghanistan.
Washington has distanced itself from Khalilzad’s trip, with a State Department spokesman telling RFE/RL that “Khalilzad is not a US government employee. As such, he does not represent the United States government.”
According to the US Treasury Department, US citizens and companies generally do not have the right to engage in any transactions, payments, contracts, services, or financial cooperation with individuals and entities on this list.
Treasury added that non-US individuals and companies that conduct certain transactions with these groups may themselves be subject to US sanctions and civil or criminal penalties.
The Taliban’s Mines and Petroleum Ministry, which signed the initial $200 million contract with the Saudi company Delta International Energy, says it includes the Kashk-Tirpol oil field located between Herat and Badghis in western Afghanistan.
According to the ministry, the deal covers oil and gas exploration across some 23,000 square kilometers of territory of the oil field in western Afghanistan, including a proposed 700-kilometer gas pipeline.
Delta International Energy is a Saudi company that invests and engages in business in the Middle East and other markets.
The Taliban, which retook power in 2021, is considered one of the most repressive regimes in the world. The international community has blacklisted Taliban leaders and cut off the group from the global financial system.
In recent months it has sought to reverse its isolation, seeking both foreign investment and international legitimacy.
Russia is the only country that has formally recognized the Taliban as Afghanistan’s legitimate government.
Several countries — including China, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan — maintain diplomatic, trade, and economic ties with the Taliban without officially recognizing its government.
In June, Taliban officials for the first time held talks in Brussels on the repatriation of Afghans despite sharp criticism from rights groups that said the European Union was legitimizing the hard-line group, which has been accused of severely curtailing the basic rights of Afghans, especially of women.
Copyright (c) 2026. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036.
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8am: Leaked documents from the Taliban’s General Directorate of Intelligence (GDI) show that the group has allocated a budget of more than 70 million Afghanis to advance a broad propaganda and media campaign, using media outlets and fake accounts to portray opposition fronts as weak, sow discord among former political leaders and their supporters, instill fear of a return to civil and ethnic war should the Taliban fall, and project the group’s invincibility. 
Afghanistan International: Residents said the arrests have mainly targeted former Afghan government security personnel and that the number detained may exceed 40. Sources said at least 15 people had been arrested over the past two weeks on accusations of cooperating with the “Afghanistan’s Guardians of the Homeland Front”. Taliban-affiliated media have also released a video showing some detainees saying they had been recruited by the group. 
Ariana: An Afghan woman accused of supporting the Islamic State has been deported from the United States in the first case to be pursued by the U.S. Department of Justice through a little-known court created 30 years ago to deport “alien terrorists.” The case marked the latest in a series of aggressive moves by President Donald Trump’s administration to carry out deportations as part of an immigration crackdown. 
8am: Over the past five years, the Taliban have repeatedly been accused of taking revenge against the country’s citizens. The group arrests, imprisons, and tortures individuals who criticize Taliban rule. The Taliban have also officially declared that criticizing their rule is considered a crime, and they have blocked any form of civic and political activity by citizens. The group has warned that no one has the right to engage in political or social activity in Afghanistan. 
Ariana: Sorkh Poshan Khafi secured a convincing 3–0 victory over Aino Mina in the fourth match of the sixth season of Afghanistan Champions League Roshan in Kabul on Saturday. 
Afghanistan International: The Afghanistan Freedom Front says it killed three Taliban members and wounded two others in an attack on a checkpoint in Kapisa’s Tagab district. The Afghanistan United Front also reported killing a Taliban police member in Kandahar. In a statement, the Afghanistan Freedom Front said it attacked a Taliban position in Tagab district, Kapisa, at around 8 pm on Wednesday, 9 September. 