Even as Pakistan projected itself as a mediator between Iran and the United States by facilitating talks aimed at ending the months-long conflict in the Middle East, a new report on Monday claimed that Islamabad quietly allowed Iranian aircraft to be parked at its airbases to shield them from possible American strikes.
The US-Iran conflict began on February 28 and hostilities were paused on April 8 after a ceasefire announcement. While negotiations toward a long-term peace agreement are continuing, with Pakistan playing a supporting diplomatic role, a final resolution remains out of reach.
Citing US officials, CBS News reported that Iran moved several aircraft to Pakistan Air Force Base Nur Khan days after US President Donald Trump announced the ceasefire in early April.
Among the aircraft reportedly relocated was an Iranian Air Force RC-130, a reconnaissance and intelligence-gathering variant of the Lockheed C-130 Hercules tactical transport aircraft.
According to the report, Tehran also moved a number of civilian aircraft to Afghanistan, though it remains unclear whether any military planes were included among those flights.
Pakistan has denied the claims, arguing that Nur Khan airbase is located right in the heart of the city and that the presence of a large number of aircraft could not have gone unnoticed by the public.
An Afghan civil aviation official told CBS News that an Iranian civilian aircraft operated by Mahan Air landed in Kabul shortly before the conflict began. The aircraft was later shifted to Herat airport near the Iranian border after Pakistan launched airstrikes on Kabul in March amid tensions with the Taliban-led administration.
Meanwhile, Trump on Monday said the ceasefire with Iran was “on life support”, indicating that Tehran’s response to a US proposal for ending the conflict showed the two sides remained deeply divided on key issues.
Although the full details of Iran’s response have not been disclosed, reports suggest Tehran has demanded that Washington lift sanctions on Iran, end restrictions on Iranian ports, withdraw US forces from the region and halt all hostilities, including support for “Israel’s war in Lebanon.”