'I Don't Trust Them': US Senator Turns On Pak Over Iranian Aircraft Claims

A report claiming that Iranian military aircraft were sheltered at a Pakistani airbase has drawn a sharp reaction from a US senator, raising fresh doubts about Islamabad's role as a mediator in the US-Iran standoff.

At a time when Islamabad had been positioning itself as a neutral channel between Washington and Tehran, a US media report suggested it had allowed Iranian military planes to park on its soil, potentially keeping them out of reach of American and Israeli strikes. 

Reacting to the report, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, a well-known voice on national security matters, said, "I don't trust Pakistan as far as I can throw them. 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 is going nowhere."

What The Report Claimed

According to CBS News, which published its report on Tuesday, while Pakistan had been acting as a mediator between Tehran and Washington, it was allowing Iranian military aircraft to land on Pakistani soil, where they could be shielded from potential US strikes.

The report added that in the days following President Donald Trump's announcement of a ceasefire with Iran in early April, Tehran dispatched several aircraft to Pakistan Air Force Base Nur Khan.

Among the aircraft reportedly present was an Iranian Air Force RC-130, a variant of the Lockheed C-130 Hercules designed for reconnaissance and intelligence-gathering purposes.

Pakistan Called Report 'Sensationalised'

Pakistan's foreign ministry rejected the CBS report, calling it misleading and sensationalised.

"Pakistan categorically rejects the CBS News report regarding the presence of Iranian aircraft at Nur Khan Airbase as misleading and sensationalised. Such speculative narratives appear aimed at undermining ongoing efforts for regional stability and peace," the ministry said in an official statement.

The ministry claimed that several Iranian and US aircraft had arrived in the country after the ceasefire and during the initial round of Islamabad talks to support the movement of diplomatic personnel, security teams and administrative staff and some of them are still parked in the country. 

Islamabad offered its own account of the situation, saying that the aircraft, an Iranian Air Force RC-130, arrived in Rawalpindi during the "ceasefire period" and had "no linkage whatsoever" to any military contingency or preservation arrangement.

"Assertions suggesting otherwise are speculative, misleading, and entirely detached from the factual context. Pakistan has consistently acted as an impartial, constructive, and responsible facilitator in support of dialogue and de-escalation," it said.

"In line with this role, Pakistan has extended routine logistical and administrative support where required, while maintaining full transparency and regular communication with all relevant parties," the statement added. 

The report also claimed that Afghanistan allowed an Iranian civilian aircraft belonging to Mahan Air to be parked at Kabul airport for a while during the war. An Afghan official confirmed to CBS News that the Iranian civilian aircraft landed in Kabul shortly before the war started and remained parked there for a while because the Iranian airspace was closed amid conflict.