&imwidth=800&imheight=600&format=webp&quality=medium "‘I don't trust Pakistan’: Senator Lindsey Graham calls for reevaluation of Islamabad's mediator role amid Iran aircraft row")
In a fiery exchange during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on Tuesday (May 12), Senator Lindsey Graham questioned Pakistan’s credibility as a neutral intermediary in the ongoing US-Iran negotiations. The Senator’s remarks follow explosive reports that Islamabad quietly allowed the Iranian Air Force to park military aircraft on its airfields to shield them from potential American and Israeli strikes.
"I don't trust Pakistan as far as I can throw them," Graham told reporters and colleagues after pressing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on the matter. "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."
The controversy was ignited by a CBS News report citing unnamed US officials, which claimed that shortly after the April ceasefire was announced, Tehran moved several military assets to Pakistan’s Nur Khan Air Base. Among the aircraft allegedly identified was an Iranian RC-130 reconnaissance plane. The report suggests that by sheltering these assets, Pakistan provided a "sanctuary" for Iranian capabilities that would otherwise have been vulnerable during the peak of the West Asia conflict.
The news outlet Financial Express reported that Graham’s scepticism is rooted in recent statements by Pakistani defense officials that he views as hostile toward US regional interests. On Monday, Graham took to social media to state that if the reporting is accurate, it would require a “complete re-evaluation” of Pakistan’s role in the diplomatic process.
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During the hearing, Graham attempted to pin down Defense Secretary Hegseth on whether the Pentagon was aware of the Iranian planes. Hegseth, however, declined to comment directly on the intelligence, stating he did not want to interfere with the delicate, ongoing negotiations.
Pakistan has moved quickly to distance itself from the allegations;a senior Pakistani official dismissed the CBS report as "speculative and misleading". The official also noted that Nur Khan Air Base is located in a densely populated urban area, making it impossible to hide a "large fleet" of foreign military aircraft from public view. Though the Pakistan Foreign Ministry agreed to the presence Iranian aircraft but have no links to the military.
