Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid said Tuesday that Bagram air base belongs to Afghanistan and not to the United States or China, rejecting calls by US President Donald Trump for Washington to retake control of the facility.

In an interview with Al Arabiya, Mujahid urged the US to engage with Afghans through diplomatic and reational channels, adding that Afghans will not accept foreign forces on any part of Afghanistan.

Trump last week warned that “bad things will happen” if the Taliban do not hand the base back to the United States. Bagram, located 11 kilometres southeast of Charikar in Parwan province, was the largest American military base in Afghanistan until the US withdrawal in 2021, when it was seized by the Taliban.

The comments are the latest in a series of Taliban responses to Trump’s remarks. Taliban Deputy intelligence chief Tajmir Jawad threatened to resume suicide attacks if necessary to defend the group’s rule, while the Taliban’s army chief said Afghans had “fought well” against efforts to undermine the country’s independence.