US President Donald Trump has said his administration is attempting to regain control of Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, citing its strategic location near China’s nuclear facilities.

“We’re trying to get it back… because they need things from us. We want that base back. One of the reasons we want the base is, as you know, it’s an hour away from where China makes its nuclear weapons,” Trump said Thursday during a joint press conference with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer at Chequers.

Bagram, located 44 km north of Kabul, was the largest US military installation in Afghanistan and served as the hub of America’s two-decade-long military presence until its withdrawal in 2021.

Trump’s remarks mark the first public acknowledgment of a possible effort to retake the base, coming four years after the chaotic US exit from Afghanistan. He once again criticized the Biden administration, calling the withdrawal a “disaster” and linking it to Russia’s war in Ukraine. “Putin would have never done what he did, except that he didn’t respect the leadership of the United States,” Trump said.

This is not the first time Trump has raised concerns about Bagram. In March, he claimed China was occupying the base, alleging it was a staging point near Chinese missile facilities. However, the Taliban swiftly dismissed those assertions.

“Bagram is controlled by the Islamic Emirate (Taliban regime), not China. Chinese troops are not present here, nor do we have any such pact with any country,” Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said at the time.

If pursued, the move to retake Bagram could reignite tensions in Afghanistan and deepen US-China geopolitical rivalry in the region.