Islamabad has rejected a CBS News report claiming that Iranian military aircraft were parked at the Nur Khan Airbase to shield them from potential United States (US) strikes.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), in a statement issued Tuesday, called the report “misleading and sensationalised”, adding that “such speculative narratives appear aimed at undermining ongoing efforts for regional stability and peace”.
According to the Foreign Office, the aircraft had arrived in Pakistan as part of logistical arrangements surrounding the Islamabad Talks between Tehran and Washington DC.
“Following the ceasefire and during the initial round of the Islamabad Talks, several aircraft from Iran and the US arrived in Pakistan to facilitate the movement of diplomatic personnel, security teams and administrative staff associated with the talks process,” the statement read.
The ministry clarified that some aircraft and personnel remained in Pakistan in anticipation of a second round of talks.
“Although formal negotiations have not yet resumed, senior-level diplomatic exchanges have continued,” it said, adding that visits by the Iranian foreign minister to Islamabad were facilitated through existing logistical arrangements.
MOFA stated that “the Iranian aircraft currently parked in Pakistan arrived during the ceasefire period and bears no connection whatsoever to any military contingency or preservation arrangement”, terming any assertion to the contrary “speculative, misleading and entirely detached from the factual context”.
The ministry also said that Pakistan had acted as an “impartial, constructive and responsible facilitator” throughout the process and had “maintained full transparency and regular communication with all relevant parties”.
On Monday, the CBS News report alleged that Pakistan had “quietly allowed Iranian military aircraft to park on its airfields, potentially shielding them from American airstrikes”.
The report had cited unnamed US officials as a post on X had claimed that multiple Iranian aircraft, including a reconnaissance variant of the Lockheed C-130 Hercules, were stationed at the airbase.
This was followed by Pakistani journalists also pushing back, with veteran journalist Hamid Mir saying that Iranian aircraft carrying a negotiating team arrived in Pakistan after the ceasefire, not during active conflict, and that both US and Iranian aircraft were parked at Nur Khan following the first round of talks.
“Your story is not based on facts. Right now, there are no Iranian aircrafts in Rawalpindi,” he wrote.
Journalist Fahd Hussain, who has previously worked for CBS News, said the story was “based only on two unnamed officials who make claims not corroborated by any evidence”, adding that he was “embarrassed how much this once reputable news organisation has degraded”.
Sophia Saifi, who works at CNN, said that the report had “no real grounding in reality” and read “more like a hit piece”.
Journalist Kamran Yousaf said that the report was the work of “spoilers and regional actors” unhappy with the closeness between Pakistan and the US under President Donald Trump.
“The Foreign Office has already issued a rejoinder, explaining every detail,” he wrote, adding that “the Trump administration knew the actual story”.
