Adam Boehler, the U.S. President’s Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs, has warned that Afghanistan could face consequences similar to those faced by Iran or Venezuela if American citizens detained in the country are not released.

The warning comes after U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio designated Afghanistan as a “state sponsor of wrongful detention” on Monday — a step that could lead to restrictions on the use of U.S. passports for travel to Afghanistan.

In a statement, Rubio called on Kabul to release all American citizens believed to be detained in the country, including Mahmood Habibi and Dennis Coyle.

Rubio accused the IEA of continuing to use what he described as “terrorist tactics,” including detaining individuals to extract ransom payments or political concessions. “These despicable tactics need to end,” he said.

According to a report by Reuters citing two informed sources, the United States is also seeking the return of the remains of writer Paul Overby, who was last seen in 2014 near the Durand Line.

The report said that if Afghanistan does not respond to Washington’s demands, the United States could restrict the use of American passports for travel to Afghanistan. Such restrictions are currently applied only to North Korea.

The move comes after the United States also designated Iran as a “state sponsor of wrongful detention” on February 26.

Rubio warned the U.S. could restrict travel to Iran over its detention of U.S. citizens, but has not imposed any restrictions. The U.S. and Israel launched a war against Iran ⁠the day after the determination was announced.

The Islamic Emirate has previously denied detaining Mahmood Habibi, the former head of Afghanistan’s Civil Aviation Authority.

It has released some U.S. prisoners following negotiations.

Despite what it called a humanitarian “disaster” in Afghanistan, the U.S. said on Monday international assistance to the country should be evaluated, given IEA “intransigence” and ​its exclusion of the female population from basic rights.

Speaking to a ‌U.N. Security Council meeting on Afghanistan, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Mike Waltz, noted that the budget for the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), the mandate of which is ​up for renewal next week, is the largest of any special U.N. ​mission in the world.

“In light of the Taliban’s (IEA) intransigence, we must ⁠carefully evaluate the utility of international assistance and engagement in Afghanistan,” Waltz said, ​even as he highlighted an ongoing “humanitarian disaster” there.

“This council must consider carefully the ​funds we collectively provide for this mission’s budget, when the mission’s female national staff are not even able to go into the office to work,” he added.

The Islamic Emirate has previously said that its policies on women are based on the Islamic law.

Afghanistan faces one ​of the world’s most pressing humanitarian crises.

According to the U.N. World Food Programme, ​more than 17 million Afghans – or one-third of the population – are facing acute food shortages, ‌including 4.7 ⁠million facing emergency levels of hunger.

The temporary head of UNAMA, Georgette Gagnon, told the meeting Afghanistan had “urgent” humanitarian needs and the humanitarian crisis there had worsened due to funding cuts. She said humanitarian agencies aimed to assist 17.5 million Afghans ​in 2026 through an ​appeal for $1.71 billion, ⁠but this was currently only 10% funded.

Gagnon said Afghanistan’s nearly two-week conflict with Pakistan had had “punishing human and economic costs” ​and the Iran war on its other border was causing ​prices of ⁠basic commodities to rise.

She said some positive developments showed the value of international engagement, including the IEA ban on opium poppy cultivation. She warned that if rights and ⁠humanitarian issues ​were not dealt with, Afghanistan could “once again become ​a driver of regional and global instability in the form of outmigration, terrorism, narcotics and more.”