An American man who had been detained in Afghanistan by the Taliban since December 2024 has been released, the US State Department introduced Sunday.
Amir Amiry, 36, was released Sunday after months of negotiations led by Qatari and US mediators and is now headed again to the United States, in accordance with the State Department and a diplomatic supply with information of the discharge.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio thanked Qatar in an announcement, saying the nation’s “strong partnership and tireless diplomatic efforts were vital to securing his release.”
“President Trump will not rest until all our captive citizens are back home,” he added. “This release today is a significant step by the administration in Kabul to effect that goal.”
Amiry is the newest American to have been released by way of America’s safety and diplomatic partnership with Qatar, a Gulf state which the US has loved a powerful relationship with for many years. The US doesn’t have a diplomatic presence in Afghanistan, having closed its embassy there after the Taliban takeover in August 2022.
The circumstances of why Amiry was in Afghanistan or why he was detained aren’t clear. NCS has reached out to the State Department.
Hamdullah Fitrat, a deputy spokesman for the Taliban, mentioned in an announcement that US hostage envoy Adam Boehler met with Afghanistan Foreign Minister Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi on Sunday. Muttaqi acknowledged in the assembly that Amiri’s launch demonstrated “that the Government of Afghanistan does not view issues concerning foreign nationals from a political perspective and reiterated that diplomacy provides pathways for resolving such matters,” Fitrat famous.
NCS’s Masoud Popalzai contributed to this report.