Republican Senator Lindsey Graham on Tuesday sharply criticised Pakistan’s reliability as a mediator in the US -Iran conflict following a CBS News report that Tehran may be using Pakistani military airfields to shield its aircraft from potential American strikes. Graham, a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said the allegations raise serious doubts about Pakistan’s trustworthiness in diplomatic efforts.
Senator Graham says, "I don't trust Pakistan... If they actually have Iranian aircrafts parked in Pakistani bases to protect the Iranian military, that tells me maybe we should be looking for somebody else to mediate. No wonder this (Iran-US deal) is going nowhere..."
According to US officials who spoke to CBS News on condition of anonymity, days after President Trump announced a ceasefire with Iran in early April, multiple Iranian military aircraft were sent to Pakistan Air Force Base Nur Khan, a strategically located installation just outside the garrison city of Rawalpindi.
The officials suggested the move could be an attempt by Iran to protect its assets from possible US or Israeli strikes by parking them on Pakistani soil.
The report comes as diplomatic efforts to solidify a lasting ceasefire between the US and Iran remain stalled. Pakistan has positioned itself as a potential mediator in the conflict, but these latest allegations could undermine Islamabad’s credibility in that role.
The Trump administration has not yet issued an official comment on the CBS report.
Background on Pakistan’s Mediation Role
Pakistan has positioned itself as a key facilitator in the US -Iran ceasefire talks. The country hosted the first round of indirect negotiations in Islamabad last month. A second round was planned but collapsed after Iran submitted a 14-point counterproposal that the Trump administration described as “TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE.”
The proposal included a 30-day drawdown of hostilities, withdrawal of US forces from the region, lifting of sanctions, reparations, cessation of fighting in Lebanon, and a new framework for governing the Strait of Hormuz. Pakistani officials on Tuesday acknowledged that Iranian planes were in the country but rejected CBS News’ reporting as “misleading and sensationalized.”
The Foreign Ministry said the aircraft arrived during the ceasefire period to support diplomatic and administrative movements related to the talks and had “no linkage whatsoever to any military contingency.”
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