US President Donald Trump issued a warning to Afghanistan, demanding the return of Bagram Air Base to Washington or face penalties. “If Afghanistan doesn’t give Bagram Airbase again to people who constructed it, america of America, BAD THINGS ARE GOING TO HAPPEN!!!” the president wrote on his Reality Social platform on Saturday.The ultimatum follows remarks made earlier within the week throughout Trump’s state go to to the UK, the place he revealed Washington was “attempting to get it again.” Standing beside British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, he mentioned: “We’re attempting to get it again as a result of they want issues from us.” He additionally complained that america had “gave it to them for nothing,” including that Bagram is “precisely one hour away from the place China makes its nuclear missiles.”Bagram, positioned 40 kilometres north of Kabul, was the most important US army base in Afghanistan and a key hub of operations throughout the two-decade warfare. US and NATO forces withdrew from it in July 2021 as a part of a Trump-brokered peace deal that paved the best way for the Taliban’s return to energy. Since then, the bottom has been beneath the management of the Taliban authorities, which has rejected the thought of overseas troops returning. “Not even an inch of Afghan soil is appropriate for overseas army presence,” International Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi has mentioned.Different Afghan officers have echoed this stance. Zakir Jalaly, from the overseas ministry, wrote that Afghanistan was open to political and financial engagement however that “the US won’t be allowed to re-establish a army presence.”China has additionally voiced opposition to Trump’s name, accusing Washington of stoking regional instability. International ministry spokesperson Lin Jian advised reporters: “China respects Afghanistan’s independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity. The way forward for Afghanistan must be within the fingers of its individuals. Hyping up regional tensions doesn’t win help.”The difficulty underscores the bottom’s strategic significance. Its location offers entry to risky components of Central and South Asia, whereas additionally providing a vantage level near China’s delicate Xinjiang area, the place Beijing maintains nuclear missile websites. Analysts warn that any US try to retake Bagram could be considered by China as a direct problem to its safety pursuits.Regardless of questions from reporters about whether or not he would contemplate sending troops, Trump declined to elaborate, saying solely: “We gained’t speak about that, however we’re speaking now to Afghanistan, and we would like it again and we would like it again quickly, immediately.” He added: “In the event that they don’t do it, you’re going to search out out what I’m going to do.”