Rubio designates Afghanistan state sponsor of wrongful detention

Secretary of State Marco Rubio designated Afghanistan as a state sponsor of wrongful detention on March 9, 2026, calling the Taliban's detention of Americans Dennis Coyle and Mahmoud Habibi acts of hostage diplomacy. The designation — the second issued under a Trump executive order — followed Iran's designation on February 27, 2026. Rubio announced it at a ceremony marking the 19th anniversary of former FBI agent Robert Levinson's disappearance in Iran, attended by Levinson's sons.