US President Donald Trump has threatened Afghanistan if it does not give back control of the Bagram air base to the United States.

Taking to Truth Social, Trump said, “If Afghanistan doesn’t give Bagram Airbase back to those that built it, the United States of America, BAD THINGS ARE GOING TO HAPPEN.”

Earlier, Trump asserted that the United States had sought to regain control of the base used by American forces following the attacks of September 11, 2001. He told reporters on Friday that he was speaking with Afghanistan about it.

The withdrawal of American forces in 2021 led to a takeover of the base by the Islamist Taliban movement.

TALIBAN’S RESPONSE

Afghan officials have already expressed opposition to a revived US presence.

“Afghanistan and the United States need to engage with one another … without the United States maintaining any military presence in any part of Afghanistan,” Zakir Jalal, an Afghan foreign ministry official, said in a post on X on Thursday.

WE WANT BAGRAM BACK: DONALD TRUMP

Speaking alongside British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that his administration is working to regain control of Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, citing its strategic proximity to China’s nuclear weapons facilities as a major reason behind the move.

Trump also called the decision to abandon Bagram a “total disaster,” under former President Joe Biden’s administration, which he accused of botching the US exit from its longest war.

“We’re trying to get (the base) back, by the way. We’re trying to get it back because (Afghan government officials) need things from us. We want that base back. But one of the reasons we want the base is, as you know, it’s an hour away from where China makes its nuclear weapons,” he added.

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