Washington: Pakistan’s role as a mediator in the US-Iran conflict faced scrutiny on Tuesday after a report in CBS news citing US officials stated that Islamabad may be harbouring Iranian military aircraft, shielding them from US strikes during the US-Iran war. The report, which Pakistan subsequently denied, added that Iran sent multiple aircraft including a reconnaissance and intelligence gathering plane to Pakistan’s Nur Khan air force base.
“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. Given some of the prior statements by Pakistani defence officials towards Israel, I would not be shocked if this were true,” said Senator Lindsey Graham, a close Trump ally, in a post on X in response to the CBS report. India’s Ministry of External Affairs said it had taken note of Graham’s comments during its weekly press briefing.
Pakistan’s foreign ministry subsequently clarified that Iranian aircraft were stationed on the country’s soil but rejected reports that this was part of an arrangement with Tehran to protect the planes.
“The Iranian aircraft currently parked in Pakistan arrived during the ceasefire period and bear no linkage whatsoever to any military contingency or preservation arrangement. Assertions suggesting otherwise are speculative, misleading, and entirely detached from the factual context,” said Pakistan’s foreign ministry in a statement. Islamabad added that some aircraft had remained in Pakistan in anticipation of further diplomatic engagements between the United States and Iran.
The Trump administration did not formally react to the CBS report or Senator Graham’s subsequent questioning of Pakistan’s role as a mediator. Experts believe the report will not affect Islamabad’s positioning vis-a-vis Washington and Islamabad.
“Since Pakistan is a mediator, I don’t think it would matter too much to the US as long as the planes are not running missions such as fuelling proxies like Hezbollah. Iran is Pakistan’s neighbour and they have to maintain a level of semblance as a mediator and not be seen as a US representative,” says Kabir Taneja, executive director with Observer Research Foundation Middle East in Dubai.
“Parking critical assets like aircraft in third countries during a war is a common practice. The US had targeted some civilian aircraft during its military campaign last month, including one Iran claimed was going to pick medicinal aid from India. Moreover, since Iran is heavily sanctioned, getting these aircraft from the market into Iran for service is not a simple endeavour, making protecting them an important ask,” Taneja adds.
The CBS report added that Iranian aircraft were also stationed in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, which has come to blows with Pakistan in recent months. Afghan officials asserted that a single Iranian civilian aircraft, which arrived in the country prior to the outbreak of hostilities in West Asia, remained on Afghan soil. Taliban’s chief spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid also denied the presence of Iranian aircraft in Afghanistan.
