Washington, DC, May 13
Casting a long shadow over the ongoing diplomatic overtures in the Middle East, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham has bluntly declared that he does not "trust" Pakistan, suggesting the United States should pivot to an alternative mediator for a truce with Iran.
The Senator's scathing assessment stems from allegations that Pakistan quietly allowed Iranian military aircraft to park on its airfields, possibly shielding them from American airstrikes.
"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," Senator Graham remarked, highlighting a growing frustration with Islamabad's multifaceted involvement.
Senator Lindsey Graham asked US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth regarding Islamabad's neutrality in ongoing diplomatic efforts during a high-stakes testimony before the Senate Appropriations Committee.
The exchange focused on whether the presence of Iranian planes on Pakistani soil was "consistent with [Pakistan] being a fair mediator." While Secretary Hegseth attempted to sidestep the political friction by stating he did not want to get in the middle of negotiations, the Senator from South Carolina offered a sharp rebuttal.
In a post on X earlier, Graham, a close political ally of US President Donald Trump, stated that he would "not be shocked" by such a move by Pakistan, citing an earlier statement from officials from Islamabad on Israel, which has strong ties with Washington.
"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 officials towards Israel, I would not be shocked if this were true," Graham stated in his post.
CBS News reported that shortly after US President Donald Trump announced the ceasefire in early April, Tehran dispatched several aircraft to the Nur Khan Airbase near Rawalpindi. This development surfaced just as Pakistan confirmed it had received Iranian peace proposals to be "shared with the US side," creating a jarring contrast between Islamabad's public diplomacy and its clandestine military cooperation.
Pakistan has scrambled to dismiss the report, labelling the claims as "misleading and sensationalised". In a formal rebuttal, the Foreign Office maintained that the Iranian aircraft arrived during the ceasefire following initial talks and bears "no linkage" to any military contingency or preservation arrangement.
The statement further alleged that such "speculative narratives" were designed to sabotage regional peace efforts.
President Trump has adopted a patient stance, asserting there was "no need to rush" negotiations while the current economic pressure remains in place. "We don't have to rush anything. We have a blockade which allows them no money. It's a very simple thing: we cannot let them have a nuclear weapon -- because they'd use it," the President stated during an interview with New York's TalkRadio 77 WABC.
Discussing the ultimate objective of halting Tehran's nuclear ambitions, the President expressed absolute certainty in the outcome. When questioned if the US could prevent Iran from enriching uranium or constructing a bomb, he replied, "100%. They're going to stop, and they told me, the Iranians told me... they said that we're going to get the dust."
- ANI
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