Trump Signs Order To Label Countries Wrongfully Holding US Citizens As Terror Sponsors

·

Donald Trump

By RFE/RL
September 6, 2025

US President Donald Trump signed an executive order that could designate countries that have wrongfully detained US citizens as state sponsors of terrorism, including Iran, Afghanistan, Russia, and China.

Senior administration officials in a briefing to reporters on September 5 said Washington would target countries holding wrongfully detained Americans as well as those that engage in “hostage diplomacy.”

“Like the State Sponsor of Terrorism determination, no nation should want to end up on this list,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement.

The order would impose punitive measures, including sanctions, on those Washington deems are wrongfully holding Americans.

A second senior administration official told reporters punitive measures would be similar to those under the current Foreign Terrorist Organization designations, including penalties such as sanctions, export controls, and barring from US entry those determined to be associated with wrongful detentions.

“Today, everything changes with regards to rogue regimes and regimes who think Americans can be treated as pawns,” the second official told reporters.

“We are drawing a very clear delineation today, a line in the sand. You will not use Americans as bargaining chips,” said the official, speaking on condition pf anonymity.

The officials told reporters the Trump administration had secured the return of 72 U.S. citizens, including those from Russia and Afghanistan.

“We’ve gotten a lot of people out and we’ll continue,” President Donald Trump said on September 5.

Under the policy, Washington would give notice to a country after deeming there had been a wrongful detention, the officials said.

The countries would have a certain period of time to act before Washington imposed sanctions.

One of the officials said Washington could choose to lift sanctions if it was determined that corrective measures were taking place.

“In a case like Iran… or Russia, I think you will see a change here,” the official said.

US officials have said they believe Russia to be holding nine American citizens. Iran is believed to be holding eight.

Russia is under US and European separate sanctions related to its full-scale, unprovoked invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Iran has been designated a State Sponsor of Terrorism by the United States and is also under a full slate of US sanctions.

Global Reach, a nonprofit organization that works to secure release of US citizens held hostage or wrongfully detained in foreign countries, hailed the action.

“This designation is something that will put real teeth behind the US government’s efforts to bring home detained Americans and deter offending nations from engaging in ‘hostage diplomacy,'” CEO Mickey Bergman said in a statement.

With reporting by Reuters and AP

Copyright (c) 2025. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036.

84,000 People Affected By Afghanistan Earthquake, Says Red Cross

·

Afghanistan International: Nearly 84,000 people have been directly or indirectly affected by the recent earthquake in Afghanistan, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said Thursday. The organisation reported that 98 percent of homes in quake-hit areas were either completely destroyed or severely damaged. Taliban officials said the quake in Kunar province has killed 2,205 people and injured more than 3,640. Click here to read more (external link).

More

Afghan Earthquake Death Toll Nearly Doubles As Rescue Efforts Continue

·

By RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi
September 4, 2025

The death toll from a massive earthquake in Afghanistan last week has nearly doubled to 2,205 as rescue workers manage to access the remote mountainous area devastated by the disaster.

Hamdullah Fitrat, a spokesman for the Taliban-led government who gave the updated casualty figures on September 4, said deliveries of first aid and emergency supplies are “ongoing” as volunteers and rescue workers negotiate treacherous terrain to reach villages where people remain trapped in the rubble.

Authorities in the impoverished, war-ravaged nation have pleaded with countries to send aid, which had stopped flowing into the country after the Taliban seized power in August 2021.

Further complicating aid efforts have been several powerful aftershocks, including a 4.7-magnitude tremor early on September 4. The initial earthquake late on August 31 measured 6.0.

“Tents have been installed for displaced families in multiple locations, and the organized distribution of primary and urgent humanitarian assistance is currently under way,” Fitrat wrote in a social media post, adding at least 3,640 people were injured in the earthquake.

The Taliban-led government has not been officially recognized by any country besides Russia, although aid groups have attempted to maintain contacts despite barriers put up by the de facto rulers.

Humanitarian groups have been warning that a lack of access to hygiene supplies, medical help, and emergency shelters are putting many, especially women and girls, at risk.

The disaster comes at a time when hundreds of thousands of Afghan refugees are being forced to return from neighboring countries, a move that had already put the country’s social services under severe strain.

Afghanistan is often hit by earthquakes, with the last one occurring in October 2023. In that case, the death toll rose steadily as emergency work continued. The Taliban gave a final figure of 4,000 dead, although the United Nations said the figure was around 1,500.

The latest quake struck at around 11:45 p.m. on August 31 and was centered some 27 kilometers northeast of Jalalabad in Afghanistan’s Nangarhar Province, according to the US Geological Survey(USGA).

The USGA said the quake was 8 kilometers deep, a relatively shallow level that often causes greater damage than deeper temblors.

Copyright (c) 2025. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036.

More

Afghanistan’s Mines under Taliban Contracts: Short-Term Revenues, Long-Term Costs

·

8am: Since the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in 2021, the group’s Ministry of Mines and Petroleum has signed more than 205 mining contracts with domestic and foreign companies. These agreements cover the extraction of copper, gold, coal, chromite, oil, and gas across various provinces. A review of documents and reports reveals that many of these contracts lack essential environmental and social impact assessments, thereby increasing the likelihood of severe consequences for the environment, public health, and the country’s long-term economic stability. Click here to read more (external link).

Related

Afghan Man Loses 10 Family Members In Devastating Earthquake

·

By RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi and Frud Bezhan
September 3, 2025

MAZAR DARA, Afghanistan — Wazir Khan was asleep when a devastating earthquake struck his remote village in eastern Afghanistan.

The midnight tremor flattened his home in the village of Mazar Dara in the eastern province of Kunar, trapping his family under rubble.

Khan survived. But most members of his family in Mazar Dara were killed on August 31.

“It was around 11:30 [at night] when there was a tremor and I found myself under the rubble,” Khan told RFE/RL’s Radio Azadi. “In that moment, I lost 10 members of my family.”

Khan’s family members were among more than 1,400 people killed in one of Afghanistan’s deadliest earthquakes in years. The Taliban government said another 3,000 people were injured.

The magnitude-6.0 earthquake flattened thousands of homes and destroyed entire villages in Kunar, a mountainous province bordering Pakistan, and neighboring provinces. A second earthquake on September 2 prompted panic and interrupted rescue efforts.

The deadly tremor has exacerbated the devastating humanitarian and economic crises that have gripped the impoverished country since the Taliban seized power in 2021. The militant group’s takeover triggered major cuts to international assistance.

Nasirullah, Khan’s son, was among those wounded in the first tremor. He was sleeping with his father on the roof of their mudbrick home when the earthquake hit.

“I fell from the roof and injured my head,” Nasirullah, his head heavily bandaged, told Radio Azadi. “I was buried up to my chest in the rubble, but I immediately pulled myself out and helped my father.”

Emergency services have struggled to reach remote villages. Thousands of people are living out in the open and are struggling to access food, drinking water, and shelter.

Recent flooding in the region and rugged terrain have complicated rescue efforts. In some areas, villagers have used their bare hands to clear the rubble in their race to find survivors.

“We are seven families staying together under one tent,” said Khan. “We have no proper shelter.”

Most of the dead have been buried in hastily dug graves. But some remain unburied due to the sheer number of casualties and lack of equipment.

“Last night, we sat under the tent holding our children, with three bodies beside us,” Khan said.

Copyright (c) 2025. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Ste 400, Washington DC 20036.

Related

Taliban, Resistance Front Clash In Afghanistan’s Baghlan Province

·

Afghanistan International: The fighting broke out around 9 p.m. in the Kahgdai area of Nahrin district and lasted for nearly an hour, the sources said. No casualty figures have been confirmed.  Kahgdai is known as a stronghold of the Resistance Front, which has previously battled Taliban forces in the area. Click here to read more (external link).

Afghanistan triumphs over Pakistan in Sharjah clash

·

Ariana: Afghanistan’s national cricket team secured a remarkable victory over Pakistan by 18 runs in their third match of the Sharjah Tri-Nation Series. This win marks Afghanistan’s first triumph over Pakistan in this tournament, following a previous defeat where Pakistan won by 39 runs. Looking ahead, Afghanistan is scheduled to face the United Arab Emirates again on Friday. Click here to read more (external link).