Washington / Kabul, September 21, 2025: U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday threatened unspecified consequences if Afghanistan does not hand back control of the strategic Bagram airbase to Washington, saying on his Truth Social platform: “If Afghanistan doesn’t give Bagram Airbase back to those that built it, the United States of America, BAD THINGS ARE GOING TO HAPPEN!!!”.
Trump’s warning followed his public comments earlier this week that the United States is “trying” to regain the sprawling facility — once the principal hub for U.S. operations in Afghanistan — and his suggestion that talks about the matter were underway. He said the U.S. wants the base “back” and insisted further action would follow if Kabul did not comply.
The Taliban-led government has firmly rejected any proposal to return the base to U.S. control, stressing Afghanistan’s sovereignty and citing commitments in the 2020 Doha agreement. Taliban spokesmen described the idea as “out of the question.”
Bagram — located about 64 kilometres north of Kabul — was the main U.S. air hub during America’s two-decade military presence in Afghanistan. U.S. forces withdrew in 2021 and the Taliban subsequently took control of the site. The base also held a detention complex that drew heavy criticism over the treatment of prisoners during the “war on terror.”
Afghan officials and analysts say a renewed U.S. military presence would be politically sensitive and logistically complex. Kabul has signalled willingness to pursue diplomatic and economic ties with Washington but has opposed any reinstatement of U.S. troops on Afghan soil. Experts have warned that an effort to retake and hold Bagram could require a major military commitment.
Trump has framed the push as correcting what he calls the loss of a vital strategic asset during the 2021 withdrawal and has linked the issue to concerns about China’s growing regional influence. When pressed on whether he would deploy troops, the president declined to give a direct answer, saying only: “We won’t talk about that.”
