The Taliban leader slams Trump's travel ban on Afghans and calls the US an 'oppressor'

The top Taliban leader on Saturday slammed President Donald Trump's travel ban on Afghans, calling the United States an oppressor, as Afghanistan's rulers seek greater engagement with the international community.

The comments from Hibatullah Akhundzada marked the first public reaction from the Taliban since the Trump administration this week moved to bar citizens from 12 countries, including Afghanistan, from entering the U.S.

Trump’s executive order largely applies to Afghans hoping to resettle in the U.S. permanently, as well as those hoping to go to America temporarily, including for university studies.

Since returning to power in Afghanistan in 2021, the Taliban have imposed harsh measures, banned women from public places and education for women and girls beyond the sixth grade. And though they have so far failed to gain recognition as the country's official government, the Taliban have diplomatic relations with several countries, including China and Russia.

Akhundzada released his message on the Islamic holiday of Eid al-Adha, also known as the “Feast of Sacrifice,” from the southern city of Kandahar, where he has set up base but is rarely seen in public.

In a 45-minute audio recording shared by Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid on X, Akhundzada denounced the Trump administration for imposing “restrictions on people.”

“Citizens from 12 countries are barred from entering their land — and Afghans are not allowed either," he said. "Why? Because they claim the Afghan government has no control over its people and that people are leaving the country. So, oppressor! Is this what you call friendship with humanity?”

He blamed the U.S. for the deaths of Palestinian women and children in Gaza, linking this allegation to the travel ban. "You are committing acts that are beyond tolerance,” he added.

The Trump administration says the measure is meant to protect U.S. citizens from "aliens who intend to commit terrorist attacks, threaten our national security, espouse hateful ideology, or otherwise exploit the immigration laws for malevolent purposes.”

It argues that Afghanistan lacks a competent central authority for issuing passports or civil documents and lacks appropriate screening and vetting measures. It also says Afghans who visit the U.S. have a high visa overstay rate.

Trump also suspended a core refugee program in January, all but ending support for Afghans who had allied with the U.S. and leaving tens of thousands of them stranded.

Also on Saturday, the Taliban prime minister said that all Afghans who fled the country after the collapse of the former Western-backed government are free to return home, promising they would be safe.

“Afghans who have left the country should return to their homeland,” Mohammad Hassan Akhund said. “Nobody will harm them.”

“Come back to your ancestral land and live in an atmosphere of peace,” the Taliban prime minister said in a message on X and instructed officials to ensure returning refugees were given shelter and support.

He also used the occasion to criticize the media for making what he said were “false judgements” about Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers and their policies.

“We must not allow the torch of the Islamic system to be extinguished,” he said. “The media should avoid false judgments and should not minimize the accomplishments of the system. While challenges exist, we must remain vigilant.”

The Taliban swept into the capital of Kabul and seized most of Afghanistan in a blitz in mid-August 2021 as the U.S. and NATO forces were in the last weeks of their pullout from the country after 20 years of war.

The offensive prompted a mass exodus, with tens of thousands of Afghans thronging the airport in chaotic scenes, hoping for a flight out on the U.S. military airlift. People also fled across the border, to neighboring Iran and Pakistan.

Among those escaping the new Taliban rulers were also former government officials, journalists, activists, those who had helped the U.S. during its campaign against the Taliban.

Separately, Afghans in neighboring Pakistan who are awaiting resettlement are also dealing with a deportation drive by the Islamabad government to get them out of the country. Almost a million have left Pakistan since October 2023 to avoid arrest and expulsion.

A Taliban fighter stands guard next to the Shah-Do Shamshira Mosque while people attend the Eid al-Adha prayer in Kabul, Afghanistan, Saturday, June 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

Taliban fighters speak with a boy during the Eid al-Adha prayers the Shah-Do Shamshira Mosque in Kabul, Afghanistan, Saturday, June 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

Pigeons fly outside the Shah-Do Shamshira Mosque during the Eid al-Adha prayer in Kabul, Afghanistan, Saturday, June 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

Afghan Muslims perform Eid al-Adha prayer while a Taliban fighter stands guard in the Shah-Do Shamshira Mosque in Kabul, Afghanistan, Saturday, June 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

A Taliban fighter stands guard near the Shah-Do Shamshira Mosque as people attend the Eid al-Adha prayer in Kabul, Afghanistan, Saturday, June 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran wants to negotiate with Washington after his threat to strike the Islamic Republic over its bloody crackdown on protesters, a move coming as activists said Monday the death toll in the nationwide demonstrations rose to at least 544.

Iran had no immediate reaction to the news, which came after the foreign minister of Oman — long an interlocutor between Washington and Tehran — traveled to Iran this weekend. It also remains unclear just what Iran could promise, particularly as Trump has set strict demands over its nuclear program and its ballistic missile arsenal, which Tehran insists is crucial for its national defense.

Meanwhile Monday, Iran called for pro-government demonstrators to head to the streets in support of the theocracy, a show of force after days of protests directly challenging the rule of 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iranian state television aired chants from the crowd, who shouted “Death to America!” and “Death to Israel!”

Trump and his national security team have been weighing a range of potential responses against Iran including cyberattacks and direct strikes by the U.S. or Israel, according to two people familiar with internal White House discussions who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

“The military is looking at it, and we’re looking at some very strong options,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One on Sunday night. Asked about Iran’s threats of retaliation, he said: “If they do that, we will hit them at levels that they’ve never been hit before.”

Trump said that his administration was in talks to set up a meeting with Tehran, but cautioned that he may have to act first as reports of the death toll in Iran mount and the government continues to arrest protesters.

“I think they’re tired of being beat up by the United States,” Trump said. “Iran wants to negotiate.”

He added: “The meeting is being set up, but we may have to act because of what’s happening before the meeting. But a meeting is being set up. Iran called, they want to negotiate.”

Iran through country's parliamentary speaker warned Sunday that the U.S. military and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if America uses force to protect demonstrators.

More than 10,600 people also have been detained over the two weeks of protests, said the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency, which has been accurate in previous unrest in recent years and gave the death toll. It relies on supporters in Iran crosschecking information. It said 496 of the dead were protesters and 48 were with security forces.

With the internet down in Iran and phone lines cut off, gauging the demonstrations from abroad has grown more difficult. The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the toll. Iran’s government has not offered overall casualty figures.

Those abroad fear the information blackout is emboldening hard-liners within Iran’s security services to launch a bloody crackdown. Protesters flooded the streets in the country’s capital and its second-largest city on Saturday night into Sunday morning. Online videos purported to show more demonstrations Sunday night into Monday, with a Tehran official acknowledging them in state media.

In Tehran, a witness told the AP that the streets of the capital empty at the sunset call to prayers each night. By the Isha, or nighttime prayer, the streets are deserted.

Part of that stems from the fear of getting caught in the crackdown. Police sent the public a text message that warned: “Given the presence of terrorist groups and armed individuals in some gatherings last night and their plans to cause death, and the firm decision to not tolerate any appeasement and to deal decisively with the rioters, families are strongly advised to take care of their youth and teenagers.”

Another text, which claimed to come from the intelligence arm of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, also directly warned people not to take part in demonstrations.

“Dear parents, in view of the enemy’s plan to increase the level of naked violence and the decision to kill people, ... refrain from being on the streets and gathering in places involved in violence, and inform your children about the consequences of cooperating with terrorist mercenaries, which is an example of treason against the country,” the text warned.

The witness spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity due to the ongoing crackdown.

The demonstrations began Dec. 28 over the collapse of the Iranian rial currency, which trades at over 1.4 million to $1, as the country’s economy is squeezed by international sanctions in part levied over its nuclear program. The protests intensified and grew into calls directly challenging Iran’s theocracy.

Nikhinson reported from aboard Air Force One.

In this frame grab from video obtained by the AP outside Iran, a masked demonstrator holds a picture of Iran's Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during a protest in Tehran, Iran, Friday, January. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)

In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran shows protesters taking to the streets despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026.(UGC via AP)

In this frame grab from footage circulating on social media from Iran showed protesters once again taking to the streets of Tehran despite an intensifying crackdown as the Islamic Republic remains cut off from the rest of the world in Tehran, Iran, Saturday Jan. 10, 2026. (UGC via AP)