A Taliban government spokesperson rebuked President Donald Trump’s warning that “bad things are going to happen” if the United States does not reclaim Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan.

“It has been consistently communicated to the United States in all bilateral negotiations that, for the Islamic Emirate, Afghanistan’s independence and territorial integrity are of the utmost importance,” Taliban spokesman Hamdullah Fitrat said in a statement on X.

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The Taliban statement came Sunday morning, hours after Trump said on Truth Social, “If Afghanistan doesn’t give Bagram Airbase back to those that built it, the United States of America, BAD THINGS ARE GOING TO HAPPEN!!!”

Trump first announced his intentions to reclaim the former U.S. air base on Thursday during his visit to the United Kingdom, pointing to the base’s close proximity to China.

“We want that base back, but 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 added. 

The Taliban asked the United States to adopt “a policy of realism and rationality” in its statement Sunday. The Taliban referenced the terms of the Doha Agreement, which the United States and the Taliban signed in 2020 to bring peace in Afghanistan.

“It should be recalled that, under the Doha Agreement, the United States pledged that ‘it will not use or threaten force against the territorial integrity or political independence of Afghanistan, nor interfere in its internal affairs.’ Therefore, it is necessary that they remain faithful to their commitments,” Fitrat said in the statement on X.

The Taliban’s statement aligns with similar rhetoric from its officials earlier this week.

“Afghans have never accepted the military presence of anyone throughout history,” foreign ministry official Zakir Jalaly said in a statement on X. “But for other kinds of engagement, all paths remain open for them.”

TALIBAN REJECTS IDEA OF US MILITARY PRESENCE IN AFGHANISTAN FOLLOWING TRUMP REMARKS

The Soviet Union originally built Bagram Air Base, which sits about 40 miles north of Kabul, in the 1950s, and the U.S. rebuilt and expanded the air base in the early 2000s.

The U.S. ceded control of the air base just before U.S. forces withdrew from Afghanistan in 2021.