Taliban Release American Engineer Frerichs in Prisoner Swap

Amir Khan Muttaqi Afghanistan's acting foreign minister talks with journalists during a press conference in Kabul, Afghanistan, 07 September 2022. (EPA)
Amir Khan Muttaqi Afghanistan's acting foreign minister talks with journalists during a press conference in Kabul, Afghanistan, 07 September 2022. (EPA)
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Taliban Release American Engineer Frerichs in Prisoner Swap

Amir Khan Muttaqi Afghanistan's acting foreign minister talks with journalists during a press conference in Kabul, Afghanistan, 07 September 2022. (EPA)
Amir Khan Muttaqi Afghanistan's acting foreign minister talks with journalists during a press conference in Kabul, Afghanistan, 07 September 2022. (EPA)

Afghanistan's Taliban freed on Monday American engineer Mark Frerichs in exchange for an Afghan tribal leader linked to the Taliban who the United States had held on drugs charges since 2005, the group's acting foreign minister said.

Frerichs was exchanged at the airport in the capital, Kabul, with Bashir Noorzai, acting foreign minister Amir Khan Muttaqi told a news conference in the city.

Noorzai was detained by the United States on suspicion of smuggling more than $50 million worth of heroin into the United States and Europe.

"Afghanistan is ready to solve problems by negotiation with all including the United States," Muttaqi said.

Frerichs is an engineer and US Navy veteran from Lombard, Illinois, who worked in Afghanistan for a decade on development projects. He was abducted in February 2020.

The United States has no official representation in Afghanistan and US government officials elsewhere were not immediately available for comment.

The United States has been pushing for the release of Frerichs, including after the Taliban took over Afghanistan in August 2021, as US-led foreign forces were withdrawing.

US officials have said his case would influence their view on the legitimacy of a Taliban-led government. No foreign government has formally recognized the Taliban, in part due to the group's restriction of most girls from education.

Noorzai briefly addressed the news conference at a Kabul hotel, alongside Muttaqi and the Taliban's acting deputy prime ministers.

"I am proud to be in the capital of my country among my brothers," he said.

The tribal leader had longstanding ties to the Taliban.

Noorzai's lawyer had denied his client was a drug dealer and argued the charges should be dismissed because US government officials duped him into believing he would not be arrested.



Trump Demurs on US Involvement on Iran, Araghchi Hints it Can Step in to End Fighting

US President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney (not pictured) at the G7 summit in Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada, June 16, 2025. (Reuters)
US President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney (not pictured) at the G7 summit in Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada, June 16, 2025. (Reuters)
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Trump Demurs on US Involvement on Iran, Araghchi Hints it Can Step in to End Fighting

US President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney (not pictured) at the G7 summit in Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada, June 16, 2025. (Reuters)
US President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney (not pictured) at the G7 summit in Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada, June 16, 2025. (Reuters)

US President Donald Trump declined on Monday to answer what it would take for US to be directly involved in the growing conflict between Israel and Iran, saying he did not want to talk about the issue.

Instead, he continued to press Iran on negotiations on its nuclear program.

“They should talk, and they should talk immediately,” Trump said during a bilateral meeting with the Canadian prime minister during the G7 summit.

Trump added: “I’d say Iran is not winning this war.”

Earlier, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi appeared to make a veiled outreach Monday for the US to step in and negotiate an end to dayslong hostilities between Israel and Iran.

In a post on X, the website formerly known as Twitter, Araghchi wrote that if Trump is “genuine about diplomacy and interested in stopping this war, next steps are consequential.”

“It takes one phone call from Washington to muzzle someone like Netanyahu,” Iran’s top diplomat continued. “That may pave the way for a return to diplomacy.”

The message to Washington comes as the most recent round of talks between US and Iran was canceled over the weekend after Israel targeted key military and political officials in Tehran on Thursday.