U.S. State Department Rejects Taliban Proposal for Investment in Afghan Minerals

September 3, 2026 at 07:18 PM2 min

This digest was compiled by AI from multiple sources — links to the originals are below.

The U.S. State Department has rejected a Taliban proposal for American investment in Afghanistan's mineral resources. Spokesman Tommy Pigott said the department has no plans to engage with the Taliban, a designated terrorist group, on developing critical minerals. The rejection follows Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi's call in the Financial Times for U.S. investment in mining, infrastructure, agriculture, and trade.

Key Facts

State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said the U.S. has no plans to engage with the Taliban on developing Afghanistan's critical mineral resources.
Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi called for U.S. investment in Afghanistan's mining, infrastructure, agriculture, and trade in a Financial Times interview published August 31.
The U.S. Geological Survey values Afghanistan's mineral deposits at nearly $1 trillion, including copper, lithium, rare-earth metals, cobalt, and iron ore.
Since returning to power in 2021, the Taliban have signed mining contracts worth more than $7 billion, mainly with companies from China, Iran, Qatar, and Turkey.

U.S. Rejection

The U.S. State Department has rejected a Taliban proposal for American investment in Afghanistan's mineral resources. Spokesman Tommy Pigott said the department has no plans to engage with the Taliban, a specially designated global terrorist group, on developing Afghanistan's critical mineral resources. Pigott added that such a step would only give money to the Taliban and create conditions for their horrific treatment of the Afghan people.

Taliban Proposal

Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi called on Washington to invest in Afghanistan's mining industry, infrastructure, agriculture, and trade in an interview with the Financial Times published on August 31. Muttaqi said Afghanistan would definitely welcome American investment and that relations should not be viewed through the lens of two decades of war. The proposal targets deposits the U.S. Geological Survey values at nearly a trillion dollars, including large reserves of copper, lithium, rare-earth metals, cobalt, and iron ore.

Mining Contracts

Since returning to power in 2021, the Taliban have signed mining contracts worth more than $7 billion. Their main partners have been companies from China, Iran, Qatar, and Turkey, with no major Western investors among them.