President Donald Trump on Tuesday reiterated his backing for Pakistan as a mediator between Iran and the United States, pushing back against criticism from Senator Lindsey Graham, a key ally.
Trump praised Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Chief of Army Staff General Asim Munir, who helped broker a fragile ceasefire with Iran that took effect last month.
“They have been fantastic. I think the Pakistanis have been fantastic. The marshal and the prime minister of Pakistan have been absolutely fantastic,” Trump told reporters, adding he had no second thoughts about Islamabad's role as intermediary.
Hours earlier, Senator Graham had questioned Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and General Dan Caine about a CBS News report alleging Pakistan allowed Iran to park military assets at its airports to shield them from potential U.S. or Israeli strikes.
Both U.S. officials declined to confirm the report, citing the sensitivity of ongoing U.S.-Iran talks.
When Graham pressed Hegseth on whether Pakistan could remain an honest broker if the report proved true, Hegseth replied, “I don’t want to get into the middle of these negotiations.”
Graham shot back: “I do. I want to get into those negotiations. I don’t trust Pakistan one bit. If they’re basically letting Iranian aircraft park at Pakistani bases to protect Iranian military assets, that tells me we probably need to find someone else to mediate. No wonder this thing is going nowhere.”
Graham, a foreign-policy hawk who has called for regime change in Iran, is one of Trump’s most influential advisers and a vocal proponent of military action against Iran. He has repeatedly warned Trump against accepting a deal that makes concessions to Tehran.
Pakistan has been pushing to restart bilateral talks between Iran and the U.S. since the April 8 ceasefire. On Sunday, Trump called Tehran’s latest proposal to end the war “unacceptable.” Late last month, the president said he would send an envoy to Pakistan to meet Iranian officials, but canceled the trip after Iran demanded the U.S. lift its naval blockade of Iranian ports as a condition for resuming negotiations.
