Trump says he is speaking with Afghanistan regarding Bagram air base

A firefighter vehicle is seen in Bagram U.S. air base, after American troops vacated it, in Parwan province

By Christian Martinez

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday said he was speaking with Afghanistan about regaining control of the Bagram air base.

“We should have never given it up,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office.

The comments come a day after Trump, in a joint press conference with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, said the United States sought to regain control of the base used by American forces following the attacks of September 11, 2001.

The withdrawal of American forces in 2021 led to a takeover of the base by the Islamist Taliban movement.

Afghan officials expressed opposition to a revived U.S. 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.

(Reporting by Jeff Mason and Christian Martinez; Editing by Leslie Adler)