CBS News reported citing US officials that several Iranian aircraft were flown to Pakistan shortly after US President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire with Iran in early April.
American officials familiar with the matter alleged that some of the aircraft were parked at Pakistan Air Force Base Nur Khan near Rawalpindi, a strategically significant military facility.
Among the aircraft moved to Pakistan was an Iranian Air Force RC-130 reconnaissance aircraft, a surveillance variant of the Lockheed C-130 Hercules transport plane, CBS News reported, quoting anonymous US officials due to the sensitivity of national security discussions.
Iran also shifted civilian aircraft to neighbouring Afghanistan as part of efforts to protect aviation and military assets from possible American strikes during the conflict, as per CBS.
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A senior Pakistani official dismissed the claims regarding the use of Nur Khan Air Base, telling CBS News that “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.”
Separately, an Afghan civil aviation official told CBS News that an aircraft belonging to Iran’s Mahan Air had landed in Kabul shortly before the outbreak of hostilities and remained there after Iranian airspace was shut.
The official further said that Taliban authorities later transferred the aircraft to Herat Airport near the Iranian border after Pakistan conducted airstrikes in Kabul in March amid tensions over alleged support for Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) by Afghan-based groups.
However, Taliban spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid rejected the claims. “No, that’s not true and Iran doesn’t need to do that,” he was quoted as saying by CBS.
China factor and fragile ceasefire
Pakistan’s has witnessed a growing military and economic dependence on China. A study by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) found that China accounted for nearly 80% of Pakistan’s major arms imports between 2020 and 2024, as per CBS.
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Islamabad has attempted to maintain ties with both Washington and Tehran while also safeguarding its strategic relationship with Beijing, which has publicly welcomed Pakistan’s role in facilitating indirect communication between Iran and the United States.
Meanwhile, tensions in the Strait of Hormuz remain high despite the ceasefire announcement. The negotiations are still underway as Iran and the US try to find out a way to agree on terms for a long lasting peace pact.
