Pakistan permitted Iranian military planes to use its airbases as a protective measure against potential American airstrikes amid the U.S.-Iran conflict, according to a report by CBS News citing U.S. officials.
The development comes as Pakistan has positioned itself as a mediator seeking to help end the hostilities between Washington and Tehran, which erupted on February 28 and have been on pause since April 8. The CBS News report further indicated that Iran moved civilian aircraft to neighboring Afghanistan for similar protection from U.S. action.
The news prompted a strong reaction from U.S. Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, who called for a full reassessment of Pakistan’s mediating role. “If this reporting is accurate, it would require a complete reevaluation of the role Pakistan is playing as mediator between Iran, the United States and other parties,” Graham, the senator from South Carolina, posted on X. He added that prior statements by Pakistani defense officials regarding Israel would not make the claims surprising.
Citing unnamed American officials, the CBS report stated that Iran dispatched multiple aircraft — including a reconnaissance and intelligence plane — to Pakistan’s Nur Khan airbase shortly after U.S. President Donald Trump declared a ceasefire in April.
ALSO READ : Israeli Court Rejects Likud Petition Against Former PM Naftali Bennett
A senior Pakistani official pushed back against the allegations concerning Nur Khan Air Base, telling CBS News that the facility’s central urban location would make any large deployment of foreign aircraft impossible to conceal from the public.
Separately, an Afghan civil aviation official informed CBS News that an Iranian civilian plane operated by Mahan Air landed in Kabul just before the conflict began. It stayed parked following the shutdown of Iranian airspace. The aircraft was later relocated to an airport in Herat, close to the Iranian border, after Pakistan conducted strikes in Afghanistan. Afghan authorities confirmed it was the only Iranian plane in the country.
The CBS News report also highlighted Pakistan’s deepening military and economic dependence on China. A Stockholm International Peace Research Institute study found that Beijing provided roughly 80 percent of Pakistan’s major arms imports between 2020 and 2024. Islamabad has sought to balance its relationships by presenting itself to Washington as a stabilizing force while refraining from actions that might strain ties with Tehran or its key patron, China.
-
-
-
-
