Trump announced the return; If this is true... the US is within reach of China's nuclear weapons

The Pentagon did not want to comment on Trump's claims to Newsweek.

Why is that important?

Bagram, once the most important US military base north of Kabul, has been under Taliban control since 2021. That was the year the US completed its withdrawal and the Taliban returned to power. Since then, the country has faced increasing poverty, increasing human rights violations, and new bans and restrictions on women.

Trump negotiated the withdrawal agreement during his tenure, but the process itself was implemented during the Joe Biden administration. Who bears the most responsibility remains the subject of heated debate in Washington - Republicans blame Biden, while Democrats blame Trump.

At a news conference in the UK, Trump said his idea was to leave Afghanistan "with strength and dignity" and keep Bagram, which he described as "one of the greatest air bases in the world".

"We're trying to get it back, by the way, okay. That could be a little breaking news. We're trying to get it back, because they need things from us", Trump said, according to Newsweek. He added that the US needs the base also for geopolitical reasons because it's "an hour away from where China makes its nuclear weapons."

The last American soldiers left Bagram in July 2021, after which Afghan forces soon handed the base over to the Taliban.

Criticism of the Biden administration

Trump regularly criticizes the Biden administration for the way the withdrawal was carried out, recalling the death of 13 US soldiers in a bombing and the rapid collapse of the Afghan government.

According to a 2022 State Department report, the decision to hand over Bagram to the Afghan military meant that the only outlet for the evacuation of civilians was Hamid Karzai Airport in Kabul, further complicating the entire operation.

The US and the Taliban do not have official diplomatic relations, but occasionally hold talks, mostly on prisoner exchanges and hostage releases.

What do analysts say?

Daniel DePetris from the organization "Defense Priorities" wrote on Sue that Trump "wants to end forever wars and pull the United States back from endless overseas commitments, which is why he's flirting with bringing U.S. troops back to Bagram Airfield...."

Rebeccah Heinrichs of the Hudson Institute added: "Trump is absolutely right about Bagram! It's incredible that we handed it over to the Taliban – especially in the context of a new Cold War with China."

Details of possible negotiations between the US and the Taliban on the return of the Bagram base have not yet been confirmed.