Trump backs Pakistan as mediator in Iran talks despite scrutiny over airbase report

# Trump backs Pakistan as mediator in Iran talks despite scrutiny over airbase report

President Donald Trump on May 12, 2026 defended Pakistan’s role as a mediator in the U.S.-Iran ceasefire process, rejecting calls to replace Islamabad after criticism from Senator Lindsey Graham.

Speaking at the White House, Trump said Pakistan had been “great” and praised both Army Chief Asim Munir and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. The remarks came after Graham said in a Senate hearing that he did not trust Pakistan and suggested the administration should look for another mediator if reports about Iranian military aircraft at a Pakistani base were true. Pakistan rejected the report.

The exchange underscored how fragile the diplomatic channel had become. Pakistan had emerged in recent months as a key intermediary between Washington and Tehran, helping open indirect and then direct contact in an effort to end the wider conflict. The article says the first round of indirect U.S.-Iran talks took place in Islamabad on April 11, and that Pakistan continued shuttle diplomacy after that meeting.

Trump’s comments signaled that Washington was still willing to use Pakistan as a conduit despite political pressure at home. The AP-supported story said more than a month had passed since a tentative ceasefire took effect, but the two sides had not made progress on a permanent agreement. Pakistan’s role therefore remained both useful and controversial: it had helped facilitate communication, but every new claim about military activity or hidden cooperation with Iran threatened to weaken its standing.

The report also showed how the issue had become entangled with broader regional diplomacy. Pakistan’s foreign ministry had already described its position as one of active facilitation between Washington and Tehran, while Pakistani leaders were publicly continuing to present themselves as neutral brokers. Trump’s decision to endorse that role suggests the administration was prioritizing the channel’s utility over the criticism surrounding it.

What made the moment especially sensitive was the timing. The ceasefire had not yet matured into a formal peace process, and Washington and Tehran were still trying to move beyond the initial pause in fighting. That left room for accusations, political attacks and competing narratives about who could be trusted to carry messages between the sides.

At the White House, Trump’s answer was brief and positive. The substance of it was more important than the length: the administration was not backing away from Pakistan, at least not on May 12. Instead, it was signaling that the diplomatic track remained open and that Islamabad still had a place at the table.

For Pakistan, the endorsement was useful but not definitive. It did not erase the criticism from Graham, nor did it resolve the underlying dispute over the report about Iranian aircraft. But it did show that, in Washington’s view, Pakistan was still worth keeping in the loop while the war and ceasefire negotiations remained unsettled.