In 1997, the embassy was closed by the United States due to a clash between the chargé d'affaires and an embassy deputy. The chargé d'affaires, Yar M. Mohabbat, represented the
Islamic State of Afghanistan led by
Burhanuddin Rabbani and
Ahmad Shah Massoud. Due to funding freezes related to sanctions, the Afghan diplomatic missions encountered financial issues, with many diplomats going unpaid for months. The final Afghan ambassador to the U.S. was
Adela Raz, who resigned in February 2022 after the
U.S. State Department made moves to severely limit the activities of Afghan diplomats, according to Deputy Ambassador Abdul Hadi Nijrabi. In March 2022, the State Department announced that the embassy and consulates would close by the end of the month, and diplomats would have thirty days to apply for residency or humanitarian parole, with one-fourth of the 100 diplomatic staff in the United States not having applied yet. The State Department said it would maintain the properties until the missions could resume operations. The embassy and consulates closed on March 16, and all diplomatic and consular activities ceased. In a statement, the embassy claimed it had requested assistance from the State Department due to its financial challenges, and it had agreed to a suggestion by the department to transfer custody of the properties in accordance with the
Vienna Convention. The
flag of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan will remain hoisted at the facilities. The embassy and consulates were the first
diplomatic missions of Afghanistan to close in the aftermath of the Taliban takeover. The Afghan embassy in Canada took over responsibilities for providing services to Afghan nationals in the United States. ==See also==