Trump warns Afghanistan of 'bad things' if it doesn't give back control on Bagram Air Base

President Donald Trump has said that "bad things" will happen if Afghanistan does not give back control of the Bagram Air Base to the US.

"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 wrote on Truth Social on Saturday.

On Friday, Trump said that discussions about reestablishing a small US military presence at the base in Afghanistan are underway.

"We'll see what happens with Bagram. We're talking to Afghanistan. It should have never been given up," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.

The Wall Street Journal, citing an anonymous US official, said the Trump administration is holding preliminary discussions with the Taliban, and talks are led by special envoy for hostage response Adam Boehler.

They cover possible prisoner exchanges, economic arrangements and a security component.

"There was no reason to give it up ... We were going to keep Bagram, the air base," said Trump.

Bagram, located north of Kabul, was the largest US installation during the 20-year war in Afghanistan before America's full withdrawal in 2021.

Afghan officials have 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.

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Source: TRT