Iran Transfers Military Aircraft to Pakistani Base Amid Fragile US-Iran Ceasefire

Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement on May 12, 2026 rejecting allegations that it sheltered Iranian military aircraft. The denial came hours after US President Donald Trump stated that the month-old US-Iran truce was on 'massive life support' and dismissed Iran's latest peace proposal as 'a piece of garbage' that he had not finished reading.

Trump also described the proposal as 'TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE' on Truth Social.

CBS News reported on May 11, 2026 that Iran moved several military aircraft, including an RC-130 reconnaissance plane, to Pakistan Air Force Base Nur Khan near Rawalpindi after the April 8, 2026 ceasefire. Pakistan's Foreign Ministry called the report "misleading and sensationalised," stating the aircraft arrived as part of diplomatic logistics for US-Iran talks in Islamabad on April 11, 2026.

Both Iranian and US aircraft used the base during that period, the ministry said, adding that any significant foreign military presence there would be impossible to hide.

"The Iranian aircraft currently parked in Pakistan arrived during the ceasefire period and bear no linkage whatsoever to any military contingency or preservation arrangement," the ministry stated. It added that Pakistan had "consistently acted as an impartial, constructive and responsible facilitator" throughout the process.

A CNN report on May 12, 2026 stated that some Trump administration officials believed Pakistan was sharing a more positive version of the Iranian position with the US than reflected reality.

US Senator Lindsey Graham called for a complete reevaluation of Pakistan's mediator role. An Iranian peace proposal was delivered through Pakistan to the US on May 9 or 10, 2026. The proposal included US war reparations, full Iranian sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz, an end to sanctions, release of frozen assets, and deferral of nuclear negotiations.

He added there is no alternative but to accept the rights of the Iranian people as laid out in the 14-point proposal. The US wants Iran to explicitly abandon its nuclear programme and surrender its stockpile of uranium enriched to 60 percent. The US imposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports on April 13, 2026.

US-Iran talks in Islamabad ended without agreement on April 12, 2026. Pakistani Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar spoke with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on May 4, 2026 about mediation efforts. The same day, 22 crew members from the Iranian container ship MV Touska, captured by US forces, were evacuated to Pakistan before transfer to Iran.

Pakistan described the evacuation as a confidence-building measure coordinated with both sides. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met with Pakistani Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar and Field Marshal Asim Munir in Islamabad on April 25, 2026. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio met Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani in Miami, Florida on May 10, 2026.

Qatar pledged support for mediation efforts led by Pakistan. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing in the week prior to May 12, 2026. Araghchi is scheduled to attend a BRICS foreign ministers meeting in India on May 14 and 15, 2026.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated in a 60 Minutes interview aired on May 10, 2026 that if Iran's nuclear material could not be removed through negotiations, Israel and the US agreed they can re-engage militarily.