Exclusive: Satellite Images Confirm Pak May Be Shielding Iran's Military Aircraft

High-resolution satellite imagery sourced from Vantor appears to confirm reports that Pakistan has been harbouring at least one Iran Air Force military aircraft while projecting itself as an independent mediator in the talks between Tehran and Washington which have been held in Islamabad.

The April 25, 2026 image in this report shows an Iran Air Force C-130 aircraft parked near a hangar at Pakistan's Nur Khan airbase. Nur Khan Airbase (also known as the Pakistan Air Force's Chaklala Airbase) is located in Chaklala, Rawalpindi which lies within the Islamabad-Rawalpindi metropolitan area. This is approximately 10 km from central Islamabad.

The new image appears to back a report by CBS News that Iran had been sending aircraft, including reconnaissance and intelligence aircraft to Pakistan's Nur Khan airbase soon after US President Donald Trump announced the ceasefire in April.

Reacting to the CBS News report, US Senator Lindsey Graham has now directly told US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine that he doesn't trust Pakistan.

Speaking at a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing, Senator Graham, who serves as the senior US senator from South Carolina said, "If they actually do have Iranian aircraft parked in Pakistan bases to protect Iranian military assets, that tells me we should be looking maybe for somebody else to mediate. No wonder this damn thing [talks between the US and Iran] is going nowhere."

Earlier, in a statement, Pakistan referred to the CBS News report as being "misleading and sensationalised. Such speculative narratives appear aimed at undermining ongoing efforts for regional stability and peace."

Iran first received its C-130s during the reign of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi in the seventies. The fleet was inherited intact by the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force after the 1979 Revolution. No new C-130s have been acquired since due to US sanctions. Iran has sustained the fleet through domestic overhauls and creative maintenance.

Iran's C-130s wear a sandy yellow/tan (desert sand) camouflage scheme, markedly different from Pakistan Air Force C-130s

Iran's C-130s wear a sandy yellow/tan (desert sand) camouflage scheme, markedly different from Pakistan Air Force C-130s also deployed at the Nur Khan airbase. These wear a light grey paint scheme.

This is not the first time that Iran has flown across military aircraft to Pakistan when faced with conflict. NDTV has accessed video showing Iranian Boeing 747 aircraft parked at Karachi airport when Israel launched Operation Rising Lion between June 13 and June 24, 2025.

Those strikes, which involved targeting Iran's nuclear facilities, were a prelude to this year's attacks by Israel and the United States.