❌ The US State Department rejects, in a harsh tone, the Taliban government’s proposal for the United States to invest in Afghanistan’s mining sector.

Tomi Phygott, a spokesperson for the US State Department, said in an interview with the network “Voice of America” that the Taliban are once again a “global terrorist” group and rejected the group’s proposal.

Phygott said that investing in Afghanistan’s mines under Taliban rule would ultimately provide the group with more financial resources and could help continue what he called the “terrifying behavior of the Taliban toward the people of Afghanistan.”

He stressed that Washington has no plan to cooperate with the Taliban on developing Afghanistan’s mineral resources.

Amir Khan Muttaqi, the Taliban’s foreign minister, recently said in an interview with the Japanese news agency “Kyodo” that the group is seeking to normalize relations with the United States and that the two sides can interact with each other based on mutual respect and shared interests.