Inisde The Intercontinental Hotel, Afghanistan’s first luxury hotel

One year after the Taliban takeover, neither the U.S. nor any other nation has recognized the Taliban government, and some of its officials are under U.S. sanctions for extremist acts. The U.S. wants assurances that the central bank would be fully independent of the Taliban.

While the Biden administration has taken several steps to get money flowing, especially for humanitarian aid, Mehrabi maintained that "no increase in humanitarian aid can compensate for the macroeconomic harm of soaring prices for basic commodities."