Trump issues threat to Afghanistan over Bagram air base

US President Donald Trump has threatened unspecified reprisals if the Taliban government in Afghanistan fails to hand over Bagram Air Base.

American troops hastily evacuated the base in July 2021, a month before Taliban fighters seized Kabul, toppling the UN-backed government and ending the 20-year US occupation of the country.

Trump said earlier that he is seeking to reestablish control over the airfield, which he has described as being close to China’s nuclear facilities.

“If Afghanistan doesn’t give Bagram Airbase back to those that built it, the United States of America, BAD THINGS ARE GOING TO HAPPEN!!!” the president wrote on his Truth Social platform on Saturday.

The Taliban has ruled out the return of American forces, while China backed Afghanistan’s sovereignty and accused Washington of “stirring up tension and confrontation in the region.”

Although Trump negotiated the withdrawal of his country’s troops during his first term, he went on to blame the collapse of the UN-recognized government and rapid Taliban takeover on former US President Joe Biden, calling the chaotic departure of the last American soldiers “a disgrace.”

Originally built by the Soviet Union, the Bagram airfield was modernized and expanded during the US occupation, serving as America’s largest outpost in Afghanistan. Trump has repeatedly claimed that China is secretly using the base, a charge denied by both Beijing and the Taliban.