The United States is seeking to regain control of Bagram air base in Afghanistan, President Donald Trump says but an Afghan official has dismissed the need for any US presence.

The historic Soviet-built airstrip was the main base for American forces in the mountainous South Asian nation following the attacks of September 11, 2001, until their 2021 withdrawal led to a takeover by the Islamist Taliban movement.

"We're trying to get it back," Trump said of Bagram, citing what he called its strategic location near China. "We want that base back."

Kabul said it was not open to any such deal, however.

"Afghanistan and the United States need to engage with one another ... without the United States maintaining any military presence in any part of Afghanistan," Zakir Jalal, an Afghan foreign mi

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