Washington: President Donald Trump has issued a stark warning, stating that "bad things" are imminent if Afghanistan does not return control of the Bagram Air Base to the United States. On Saturday, Trump emphasized the urgency of the situation through a post on his social media platform, Truth Social, highlighting the importance of the airbase to American interests.

According to Anadolu Agency, discussions about reestablishing a US military presence at Bagram Air Base are currently underway. Trump revealed on Friday that these talks involve Afghanistan and suggest a potential shift in military strategy. He remarked, "We'll see what happens with Bagram. We're talking to Afghanistan. It should have never been given up," during a conversation with journalists in the Oval Office.

Further inquiries about the possibility of deploying troops to regain control of Bagram were met with a cautious response from Trump. Before attending an event at the American Cornerstone Institute in Mt. Vernon, he stated, "We won't talk about that. We are talking now to Afghanistan and we want it back and want it back soon, right away, and if they don't, you are going to find out what I'm going to do."

The Wall Street Journal has reported, citing an anonymous US official, that preliminary discussions involving the Trump administration and the Taliban are occurring. These talks, led by special envoy for hostage response Adam Boehler, cover a variety of topics, including potential prisoner exchanges, economic arrangements, and security measures.

Trump further lamented the previous decision to relinquish the airbase, saying, "There was no reason to give it up ... We were going to keep Bagram, the air base." Bagram, which is strategically located north of Kabul, served as the largest US installation throughout the two-decade-long conflict in Afghanistan before the US fully withdrew in 2021.