Trump Warns Taliban To Hand Over Bagram Or Face Consequences
President Donald Trump has urged the Taliban to hand over Bagram Air Base to the United States, warning of unspecified consequences if they refuse.
President Donald Trump has urged the Taliban to hand over Bagram Air Base to the United States, warning of unspecified consequences if they refuse.
“If Afghanistan does not return Bagram Air Base to those who built it, the United States of America, bad things are going to happen,” Trump wrote Saturday on Truth Social.
The warning followed his remarks Thursday at a joint press conference with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, where he said Washington is working to regain control of the facility.
Bagram was the largest US military base in Afghanistan until 2021, when it was vacated during the American withdrawal.
Trump has repeatedly criticised former President Joe Biden for the chaotic exit, saying it allowed the Taliban to seize US weapons, equipment and the base itself. Speaking in London, he described Bagram as strategically significant because it is “only an hour away from where China produces its nuclear weapons.”
On Friday, Trump told reporters at the White House that talks with the Taliban were ongoing. “We should never have given it up,” he said.
The Wall Street Journal, citing US officials, reported that Trump’s administration is in early negotiations with the Taliban over a limited American counterterrorism presence at Bagram. Adam Boehler, who recently travelled to Afghanistan with former US envoy Zalmay Khalilzad, is leading the discussions.
Khalilzad has said Bagram could serve US counterterrorism operations but added that progress depends on resolving ongoing hostage disputes between Washington and the Taliban.
