The U.S. State Department has explicitly rejected Taliban overtures for American investment in Afghanistan’s estimated $1 trillion mineral resources, including lithium, copper, and rare earths, citing sanctions on the group and concerns over enabling repression. In late August and early September 2026, Taliban Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi publicly invited U.S. mining, infrastructure, and trade deals while seeking sanctions relief and asset releases, yet Washington responded that it has no plans to engage the sanctioned regime. President Trump has instead advanced critical minerals agreements with allied nations such as Australia, Armenia, and Ecuador to secure supply chains. These official rebuffs, combined with longstanding diplomatic isolation of the Taliban, underpin traders’ strong consensus against a bilateral mineral deal materializing in 2026.