Pakistan rejects claims of Iranian aircraft deployment for protection against US strikes

ISLAMABAD, May 12. /TASS/. Pakistan rejected as "misleading and embellished" the reports about Iran transferring aircraft into the country for protection against potential US strikes, the Pakistani Foreign Ministry said in response to a CBS News report. The US news broadcaster CBS News, citing sources, reported that Iran may have relocated military and civilian aircraft to Pakistan and Afghanistan to protect them from potential US strikes. Iranian warplanes were stationed at Pakistan's Nur Khan air base south of Islamabad, including an Iranian RC-130, a reconnaissance aircraft converted from the C-130 military transport aircraft. The Foreign Ministry said on X that "such speculative claims" appear aimed at undermining current efforts to ensure regional stability and peace. "Several aircraft from both countries" arrived in Pakistan after the ceasefire and during the first round of US-Iran talks in Islamabad "to facilitate the movement of diplomatic personnel, security details, and administrative staff involved in the negotiation process," with some aircraft and support personnel "temporarily remaining in Pakistan" while "awaiting subsequent rounds of engagement," the ministry clarified. The Iranian aircraft in Pakistan arrived during the ceasefire and have no connection to any contingency military agreements or security measures, and claims suggesting otherwise are speculative, misleading, and completely disconnected from the factual context, the Pakistani Foreign Ministry emphasized. The Foreign Ministry indicated that Pakistan has consistently acted as an impartial mediator in support of dialogue and de-escalation, providing necessary logistical and administrative support while maintaining full transparency and regular communication with all parties.