The Taliban-led government of Afghanistan has firmly rejected U.S. President Donald Trump’s request for the return of Bagram Airbase, once the nerve center of U.S. operations during the two-decade war in Afghanistan.
On Friday, Afghan Foreign Ministry official Zakir Jalaly stated on social media that any renewed American military presence in the country was “completely rejected.” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid echoed the position in comments to the Times of London, declaring: “We have expelled the Americans from the Islamic Emirate and we will not accept their presence in our country.”
Trump reignited speculation over Bagram during a joint press conference with British Prime Minister Kier Starmer in the U.K. on Thursday. The president remarked that he would never have withdrawn from the airfield as former President Joe Biden did in 2021, suggesting that ongoing discussions might secure a U.S. return to the base.
Since taking office in January, Trump has frequently revisited the subject of Bagram, at times claiming—without evidence—that China has assumed control of the facility. In June, online rumors falsely claimed that the airbase had already been handed back to U.S. forces after reports of an American military aircraft landing there circulated on social media. The episode underscored Trump’s fixation on the site.
Following the U.S. withdrawal in 2021 and the Taliban takeover, the Biden administration sought limited counterterrorism cooperation with Kabul, proposals the Taliban quickly rejected. According to a report by The Wall Street Journal on Thursday, Trump officials also raised the possibility of stationing a small contingent of U.S. forces at Bagram during prisoner negotiations earlier this year. That request, too, was denied.
Analysts believe Trump’s focus on Bagram stems from its strategic location. Roughly an hour’s flight from Chinese nuclear facilities, the airbase is also viewed as a potential choke point between China and Iran. Trump has argued that U.S. control of Bagram would be critical to countering Beijing and Tehran’s growing cooperation.
However, given the Taliban’s ideological opposition to foreign military forces and its long struggle to expel the U.S., few observers believe Kabul would even entertain such a proposal. The outright rejection on Friday further underscores the improbability of any American return to Afghanistan’s most significant airbase.