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Washington — According to a CBS News report citing US officials, Pakistan quietly allowed Iranian military aircraft to park at its airbases during the recent conflict between Iran and the United States. The report says multiple aircraft, including an Iranian Air Force RC-130 reconnaissance plane, were moved to Pakistan shortly after US President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire in early April and were reportedly sent to Pakistan Air Force Base Nur Khan near Rawalpindi. US officials spoke on condition of anonymity; US Central Command declined to comment and referred queries to Pakistani and Afghan authorities. A senior Pakistani official strongly rejected the allegation, saying the base's location in the city would make large, hidden movements visible to the public. The report also says Iran moved civilian aircraft into neighbouring Afghanistan after Iranian airspace was shut, with an Afghan civil aviation official telling CBS that a Mahan Air aircraft landed in Kabul and later was shifted to Herat after Pakistan launched airstrikes around Kabul during tensions with the Taliban-led government; a Taliban spokesman denied that Afghan authorities sheltered Iranian planes. CBS noted Pakistan's growing military dependence on China, citing a SIPRI study that China supplied nearly 80 percent of Pakistan's major arms imports between 2020 and 2024. The allegations come ahead of President Trump's scheduled visit to Beijing and follow Iran's public demands for war reparations, recognition of sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz and the lifting of US sanctions, which Mr. Trump called "TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE."

Prepared by Rachel Morgan and reviewed by editorial team.