Mediator Or Strategic Opportunist? Pakistan Faces Scrutiny Over Iran Role

Pakistan’s role as a mediator between Iran and the United States has come under renewed scrutiny after reports that Iranian aircraft were parked at a military base just outside Rawalpindi, raising questions about Islamabad’s balancing act in the unfolding conflict.

The Pakistani Foreign Ministry was quick to call the news reports "misleading and sensationalized" without denying the presence of the Iranian aircraft at the country’s Nur Khan Air Base.

"Iranian aircraft parked in Pakistan arrived during the cease-fire period and bear no linkage whatsoever to any military contingency or preservation arrangement," the ministry said in a statement.

Quoting unnamed US officials, the American broadcaster CBS reported on May 11 that Pakistan had allowed Iranian military aircraft to park on its airfields, potentially shielding them from US air strikes.

Reacting to the news report, US Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said in a social media post that “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.”

There has not yet been any official comment from the White House or US State Department.

The allegations have also revived a long-running debate in Washington over whether Pakistan can simultaneously maintain close security ties with the United States while preserving strategic relationships with America’s adversaries.

As a non-NATO ally during the US-led war on terror, Pakistan has long faced accusations from American officials of playing a “double game.”

Trump amplified those tensions in 2018 when he accused Islamabad of taking billions of dollars in US aid while providing a “safe haven” to militants in Afghanistan.

“The United States has foolishly given Pakistan more than 33 billion dollars in aid over the last 15 years, and they have given us nothing but lies & deceit, thinking of our leaders as fools,” Trump said in a tweet at the time.

Nobel Gesture

However, Pakistan has sought to ingratiate itself with Trump since the start of his second term in the White House.

In a gesture of goodwill, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced his intention to nominate Trump for the Nobel Peace Prize in October over his role in brokering the Hamas–Israel cease-fire in the Middle East. Earlier, Islamabad had also praised Trump’s efforts in helping secure a cease-fire between India and Pakistan.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif (left) and US President Donald Trump (file photo)

Trump, in turn, has repeatedly praised Sharif and Pakistan’s army chief, Asim Munir, whom he once described as “my favorite field marshal.”

Pakistan shares a border with Iran and Afghanistan, while also maintaining historically close defense and religious ties with Saudi Arabia -- a balancing act that has often complicated its regional diplomacy.

The nuclear-armed nation of some 250 million people has long relied on the United States for its defense and economic needs, while also maintaining China as a key strategic partner.

With the outbreak of the US-Israeli military campaign against Iran on February 28, Pakistan further cemented its ties with the Trump administration by positioning itself as a mediator in the conflict.

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How Pakistan Bolstered Its Diplomatic Image By Brokering A Cease-Fire

Nearly 40 days into the war, Trump announced a cease-fire after Pakistan requested a halt to Operation Epic Fury -- the US-led bombing campaign against Iranian military targets -- to make way for peace talks. The move was widely welcomed and boosted Islamabad’s image as a key interlocutor.

However, repeated Pakistani requests in the following weeks to extend the cease-fire and halt Project Freedom -- a US operation aimed at safeguarding shipping lanes in the Strait of Hormuz -- gradually fueled skepticism about Islamabad’s role. Trump repeatedly accepted those appeals, while US and Pakistani leaders exchanged public messages of thanks and praise, further intensifying scrutiny.

Geopolitical Growing Pains

For Pakistan, which has long had a rocky diplomatic relationship with Washington, the growing pains have become evident as Islamabad's visibility in geopolitics rises.

"Pakistan’s geography has always made it a crossroads," says Zaheer Shigri of the Center for Strategic and Contemporary Research (CSCR) in Islamabad.

"Crossroads are assets when you control the traffic, but they can become a burden when external pressures begin to dictate the flow. Pakistan is being pulled by Washington, Kabul, and Riyadh simultaneously.... It is a complex strategic balancing act."

This diplomatic tightrope has elevated Pakistan’s profile but also intensified scrutiny of its regional loyalties.

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Pakistan Steps Forward As Future 'Host' In Iran Diplomacy

The push comes as China and Pakistan seek to position themselves as stabilizing actors while avoiding direct entanglement in the widening conflict.

“A highly visible mediating role is a risky gamble, and even success offers uncertain returns,” said Zoha Waseem and Yasser Kureshi in an article for the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

“By taking ownership of the process, Islamabad has positioned itself as a consequential stakeholder in the Persian Gulf,” they wrote.

The role, they added, has boosted Pakistan’s regional visibility and leverage, but also exposed it to greater scrutiny as tensions deepen among Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.

“Whether successful mediation translates into sustained economic dividends, through relief or increased foreign investment, remains an open question,” they said.

While Pakistan has legitimate concerns about instability spilling across its borders and damaging its fragile economy, critics and analysts argue that Islamabad is also seeking to align itself more closely with Trump while maintaining diplomatic relevance internationally.

Tactical Role

Pakistan’s mediating role has also drawn criticism in India, where some commentators have questioned why New Delhi has not taken on a similar diplomatic role in the Iran conflict.

The criticism is shaped in part by the historically tense relationship between the two South Asian neighbors and their competing regional ambitions.

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Some Indian analysts link Pakistan’s heightened visibility to longstanding regional rivalry, as well as to external powers’ willingness to rely on Islamabad as an intermediary when useful.

Brahma Chellaney, an author and professor of strategic studies at the New Delhi-based Center for Policy Research, posted on X that “each time Trump chickens out, he uses Pakistan as a cover.”

Political scientist Ayesha Siddiqa, an author and senior fellow at King’s College London, told RFE/RL that Pakistani strategists see alignment with Trump as a way to secure a stronger regional role for the country.

She noted that Pakistan has historically played a tactical role, and that this instance is no different.

“President Donald Trump sought a cease-fire, its extension, and later a pause in Project Freedom, and he used Pakistan," she said. "Pakistan, in turn, was willing to be used because it seeks its own benefits, both military and strategic, from this role.”