The Media Line: US Senator Graham Calls for Review of Pakistan’s Mediator Role After Report It Secretly Sheltered Iranian Aircraft   

US Senator Graham Calls for Review of Pakistan’s Mediator Role After Report It Secretly Sheltered Iranian Aircraft   

By The Media Line Staff   

US Sen. Lindsey Graham called for a reassessment of Pakistan’s role as a mediator in talks involving the United States and Iran following a CBS report that Iranian aircraft were secretly moved to Pakistani air bases during the conflict with Iran.   

“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,” Graham wrote on X. “Given some of the prior statements by Pakistani defense officials towards Israel, I would not be shocked if this were true.”   

Graham appeared to be referencing remarks made in April by Pakistan’s Defense Minister, Khawaja Muhammad Asif, who referred to Israel as “a curse for humanity” and a “cancerous state.”    

In a separate post, Graham added, “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.”   

CBS reported Monday that Pakistan, which has played a mediating role between Washington and Tehran, allowed Iran to move aircraft into Pakistani territory in an effort to avoid possible US strikes.   

According to US officials cited by CBS, Iran transferred multiple aircraft to Pakistan Air Force Base Nur Khan near Rawalpindi days after President Trump announced a ceasefire with Iran in early April.   

Among the aircraft reportedly observed at the base was an RC-130 reconnaissance and intelligence-gathering plane, a modified version of the Lockheed C-130 Hercules operated by the Iranian Air Force.   

CBS also reported that Iran moved civilian aircraft into neighboring Afghanistan, though it remained unclear whether military aircraft were included there as well.   

A senior Pakistani official denied the allegations involving Nur Khan Air Base.   

“Nur Khan base is right in the heart of [the] city, a large fleet of aircrafts parked there can’t be hidden from [the] public eye,” the official told CBS News.   

Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs also rejected claims that it had sheltered Iranian military aircraft.   

The ministry said Tuesday that “a number of aircraft from Iran and the United States arrived in Pakistan to facilitate the movement of diplomatic personnel, security teams, and administrative staff associated with the talks process.”   

“Some aircraft and support personnel remained temporarily in Pakistan in anticipation of subsequent rounds of engagement,” the statement added.   

 

 

X links:  

https://twitter.com/LindseyGrahamSC/status/2053925069672296785 

https://twitter.com/FoxNews/status/2054229244058685821