U.S senator Lindsey Graham has slammed Pakistan after a report by CBS News on Tuesday claimed that the country was allowing Iranian military aircrafts to be parked in the Nur Khan Airbase near Rawalpindi. Graham urged the United States to look into a new mediator while declaring that he does not “trust” Pakistan.
“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.” said the Republican senator during a testimony before the Senate Appropriations Committee.
Graham had earlier reacted to the report on his X handle, posting, “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. Given some of the prior statements by Pakistani defence official towards israel, I would not be shocked if this were true.”
Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry released an official statement countering the 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,” said the statement.
The ministry said several Iranian and U.S aircraft arrived in the country after the ceasefire was declared, and during the first round of peace negotiations in Islamabad, to aid the movement of the delegation teams. It said some of the aircraft were still parked in the country.
According to Pakistan, the aircraft mentioned in the report, an Iranian Air Force RC-130, landed in the airbase during the “ceasefire period” and had no connection to any military operation.
