The Taliban reject Trump’s bid to retake Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan
[September 22, 2025]
JALALABAD, Afghanistan (AP) — The Taliban government on Sunday rejected
U.S. President Donald Trump’s bid to retake Bagram Air Base, four years
after America’s chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan left the sprawling
military facility in the Taliban's hands.
Trump on Saturday renewed his call to reestablish a U.S. presence at
Bagram, even saying “we’re talking now to Afghanistan” about the matter.
He did not offer further details about the purported conversations.
Asked by a reporter if he’d consider deploying U.S. troops to take the
base, Trump demurred.
“We won’t talk about that,” Trump said. “We want it back, and we want it
back right away. If they don’t do it, you’re going to find out what I’m
going to do.”
On Sunday, chief Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid rejected Trump’s
assertions and urged the U.S. to adopt a policy of “realism and
rationality.”
Afghanistan had an economy-oriented foreign policy and sought
constructive relations with all states on the basis of mutual and shared
interests, Mujahid posted on X.
It had been consistently communicated to the U.S. in all bilateral
negotiations that Afghanistan’s independence and territorial integrity
were of the utmost importance, he said.
“It should be recalled that, under the Doha Agreement, the United States
pledged that ‘it will not use or threaten force against the territorial
integrity or political independence of Afghanistan, nor interfere in its
internal affairs,’” he said. The U.S. needed to remain faithful to its
commitments, he added.
Mujahid did not reply to questions from The Associated Press about
conversations with the Trump administration regarding Bagram and why
Trump believed the U.S. could retake it.
'Ceding Afghan soil is out of the question'
Earlier Sunday, the chief of staff at the Defense Ministry, Fasihuddin
Fitrat, addressed Trump's comments. “Ceding even an inch of our soil to
anyone is out of the question and impossible,” he said during a speech
broadcast by Afghan media.
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A gate is seen at the Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, Friday, June
25, 2021. President Donald Trump has suggested he's working to
reestablish a U.S. presence at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan. That
comes four years after America’s chaotic withdrawal from the country
left the base in the Taliban’s hands. (AP Photo/Rahmat Gul, File)
In August last year, the Taliban celebrated the third anniversary of
their takeover at Bagram with a grand military display of abandoned
U.S. hardware, catching the eye of the White House. Trump has
repeatedly criticized his predecessor, Joe Biden, for his “gross
incompetence” during the withdrawal of U.S. forces after the
country’s longest war.
Trump last week during his state visit to the United Kingdom hinted
that the Taliban, who have struggled with an economic crisis,
international legitimacy, internal rifts and rival militant groups
since their return to power in 2021, could be game to allow the U.S.
military to return.
“We’re trying to get it back because they need things from us,”
Trump said of the Taliban. While the U.S. and the Taliban have no
formal diplomatic ties, the sides have had hostage conversations. An
American man who was abducted more than two years ago while
traveling through Afghanistan as a tourist was released by the
Taliban in March.
The Taliban also said they reached an agreement with U.S. envoys on
an exchange of prisoners as part of an effort to normalize relations
between the United States and Afghanistan.
They gave no details of the detainee swap, and the White House did
not comment on the meeting in Kabul or the results described in a
Taliban statement. The Taliban released photographs from their
talks, showing their foreign minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi, with
Trump’s special envoy for hostage response, Adam Boehler.
—-
Associated Press writer Aamer Madhani in Washington contributed to
this report.
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