CNN :Trump has been pressuring US national security officials for months to retake Bagram airbase.

CNN quoted informed sources as saying that US President Donald Trump has been secretly pressuring national security officials for months to find a way to recapture Bagram Air Base from the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan.

Initial talks to return the base to American control have been underway since at least March.

According to CNN sources, Trump considers the Bagram base necessary for a number of reasons, including monitoring China, which borders less than 500 miles from Bagram, access to rare earth elements in Afghanistan’s mines, establishing a counterterrorism center to target ISIS, and possibly reopening a diplomatic base.

The Islamic Emirate has previously rejected these claims and emphasized Afghanistan’s complete sovereignty over Bagram.