Republican Senator Lindsey Graham has raised serious questions over Pakistan’s role in the ongoing tensions involving Iran and the United States after CBS report claimed that Iranian military aircraft were quietly allowed to use Pakistani airbases. Reacting to the news, Graham said Washington may need to rethink Pakistan’s role as a mediator if the claims turn out to be true.
“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. “Given some of the prior statements by Pakistani defence officials towards Israel, I would not be shocked if this were true.”
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.
— Lindsey Graham (@LindseyGrahamSC) May 11, 2026
Given some of the prior statements by Pakistani defense officials towards Israel, I would not be shocked if… https://t.co/OqJ1cdVLFX
Report claims Iran parked military aircraft in Pakistan
The controversy began after a report by CBS News cited unnamed US officials claiming that Pakistan quietly allowed Iranian military aircraft to land and remain at one of its air bases during the recent conflict in the region.
According to the report, the move may have been aimed at protecting the aircraft from possible American airstrikes. The officials said that shortly after US President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire with Iran in early April, Tehran moved several aircraft to Pakistan’s Nur Khan Air Base.
One of the aircraft reportedly sent there was an Iranian Air Force RC-130, a surveillance and intelligence-gathering version of the Lockheed C-130 Hercules aircraft.
The report further claimed that Iran moved civilian aircraft to Afghanistan around the same period. However, US officials said it remains unclear whether military planes were also part of those flights.
Pakistan denies the claims
Pakistan has strongly denied the allegations. A senior Pakistani official rejected the report and dismissed the suggestion that the country allowed Iranian military aircraft to use its facilities, ANI reported.
At the same time, an Afghan civil aviation officer told CBS News that an Iranian civilian aircraft belonging to Mahan Air had landed in Kabul shortly before the conflict began.
Still, the Taliban government denied any such arrangement. Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid told CBS News, “No, that’s not true, and Iran doesn’t need to do that.”
Iran says nuclear issue is not up for discussion
The developments come as tensions remain high between Tehran and Washington.
Iran’s state broadcaster Press TV reported that Mohammad Eslami told lawmakers that Iran’s nuclear program and uranium enrichment are not part of any possible negotiations with the United States.
“According to the head of the Atomic Energy Organisation [of Iran], the issue of nuclear technology is not on the agenda of the negotiations [with the US], and enrichment is not negotiable,” said Ebrahim Rezaei after a parliamentary meeting.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei also defended Tehran’s proposal to end the war and said it was reasonable.
Trump tears into Iran’s proposal
Trump, however, appeared to reject the proposal outright during remarks from the Oval Office on Monday. “After reading that piece of garbage they sent us, I didn’t even finish reading it,” Trump said while speaking to reporters. He added, “They (Iran) are on life support. The ceasefire is on massive life support.”