US Seeks to Regain Control of Bagram Airbase in Afghanistan

The United States is working to retake Bagram airbase from the Taliban, Donald Trump has said, signalling Washington’s intention to reclaim a key strategic foothold lost during the chaotic Afghanistan withdrawal.

The US president indicated that negotiations with the Taliban were under way for American forces to once again occupy the airfield, which was previously the largest US military site in Afghanistan. He stressed its importance as a regional outpost given its location just an hour’s flight from Chinese nuclear weapons facilities.

Speaking alongside Keir Starmer at Chequers on September 18, Trump remarked:

«One of the biggest airbases in the world. We gave it to them for nothing. We’re trying to get it back because they need things from us. We want that base back. One of the reasons we want it is it’s an hour away from where China makes its nuclear weapons.»

Trump has long criticised his predecessor Joe Biden over the 2021 withdrawal, which he claims left US weapons, equipment and bases in Taliban hands. At his first cabinet meeting in February, Trump said his original withdrawal plan included retaining Bagram «not because of Afghanistan but because of China».

He described Bagram as one of the world’s largest airbases, equipped with a 3,600-metre runway able to accommodate bombers and heavy cargo planes. Trump had also previously alleged that China had taken over the site, though the Taliban denied this, insisting it remains under Afghan control.

Reports suggest the Taliban are exploring ways to improve relations with Washington after being politically isolated over human rights abuses and ongoing security threats.

Taliban’s Response

Afghanistan has rejected a call from President Donald Trump for the United States military to return to the country and reclaim the Bagram airbase.

A foreign ministry official declared on social media on September 19 that Kabul is ready to engage, but maintained that the US will not be allowed to re-establish a military presence in the central Asian country.

«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, a foreign ministry official, posted on social media.

Kabul is ready to pursue political and economic ties with Washington based on «mutual respect and shared interests,» he added.

Kursiv also reports that Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister has called on countries that seized helicopters during the collapse of the former government to return them.