Russia, China, Iran, and Pakistan issued a joint statement on Friday rejecting U.S. efforts to regain control of Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan.
The statement followed an informal meeting of the four countries’ foreign ministers on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York. The ministers stressed their opposition to any renewed U.S. military presence in Afghanistan, explicitly naming Bagram, and affirmed support for Afghanistan’s sovereignty, reconstruction, and economic development.
The move comes after U.S. President Donald Trump claimed last week that talks were ongoing with Kabul for a transfer of Bagram back to American control. Shortly after, Trump posted on Truth Social threatening that “bad things would happen” to Afghanistan if the Taliban-led government refused to comply.
Afghanistan swiftly rejected the demand. Officials in Kabul stated no foreign troops will be permitted in the country under any circumstances, citing the 2020 Doha Agreement signed between the Taliban and Trump’s first administration, which stipulated the full withdrawal of U.S. forces, including from Bagram.
Trump has made repeated and shifting claims about the importance of Bagram. He has suggested the base is essential because of its proximity to China, saying it lies “an hour away” from Chinese nuclear production facilities—a claim widely dismissed given the Chinese border itself is about 350 miles (563 kilometers) from Bagram.
Observers note Trump’s fixation on Bagram may stem less from strategy than from symbolism. Last August, on the third anniversary of Kabul’s fall, the Taliban-led government staged a military parade at the base. The Islamic National Army of Afghanistan, successor to the U.S.-backed Afghan National Army, displayed U.S. and Soviet-made weapons and flew captured American Blackhawk helicopters overhead. The imagery reportedly infuriated Trump, who has publicly referenced the parade multiple times.
Notably, this year’s planned parade marking the fourth anniversary of Kabul’s fall was abruptly canceled, with Afghan media suggesting political considerations may have been at play.