U.S. officials have revealed that Pakistan, while publicly acting as a diplomatic intermediary between Iran and the United States, secretly allowed Iranian military aircraft to park on its airfields during the recent war, potentially protecting them from U.S. airstrikes.

According to the officials, who spoke to CBS News on condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the matter, Iran dispatched several aircraft, including an RC-130 reconnaissance plane, to Pakistan Air Force Base Nur Khan near Rawalpindi just days after President Trump announced a ceasefire in early April.

The officials also reported that Iran sent civilian aircraft to Afghanistan, though it remains unclear whether military planes were among them. These actions appear to be part of Iran’s efforts to safeguard its remaining military and aviation assets amid the escalating conflict, even as Iranian officials openly worked to broker a de-escalation.

Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs acknowledged the presence of Iranian planes in the country on Tuesday, asserting that they arrived during the ceasefire period to facilitate diplomatic personnel movement and were not connected to any military arrangement. The ministry maintained that Pakistan has consistently served as an impartial facilitator.

However, a senior Pakistani official denied the claims surrounding Nur Khan Air Base, arguing that a large fleet of aircraft parked there could not be concealed from public view.

In Afghanistan, a civil aviation officer told CBS News that an Iranian Mahan Air passenger plane landed in Kabul shortly before the war began and remained there after Iranian airspace was closed. The aircraft was subsequently relocated to Herat Airport near the Iranian border for safety reasons during tensions between Pakistan and the Taliban-led Afghan government. The Taliban’s chief spokesman, however, denied the presence of any Iranian planes in Afghanistan.

Pakistan’s reliance on China for military support has grown significantly in recent years, with China providing around 80% of Pakistan’s major arms between 2020 and 2024. Islamabad has sought to balance its role in the crisis, offering itself as a stabilizing intermediary to Washington while avoiding actions that might strain ties with Tehran or Beijing, Iran’s strongest global ally.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)