A report published by CBS News alleging that Pakistan “secretly” allowed Iranian military aircraft to park at Nur Khan Airbase to shield them from U.S. strikes has come under intense scrutiny as the controversy has deepened amid revelations regarding the professional history of one of the story’s lead reporters, Jim LaPorta, who was fired several times.
Fahd Husain prominent Pakistani journalist, columnist on his X post said that the credibility of the CBS report has been hit by the history of its co-author. Jim LaPorta was famously fired from the Associated Press (AP) in November 2022 for a massive reporting blunder. LaPorta was responsible for a false alert claiming that “Russian missiles” had crossed into NATO-member Poland, killing two people.
That report nearly triggered a NATO Article 05 escalation before it was revealed that the missile was actually a stray Ukrainian air-defence projectile. A new AP agency, terminated him after finding he violated sourcing protocols by relying on a single, unverified anonymous source, a pattern critics claim has been repeated in the Nur Khan story.
So it turns out one of the reporters @JimLaPorta who wrote the @CBSNews poorly sourced, professionally weak & clearly slanted story was fired from The Associated Press @AP for erroneous reporting. Here’s the proof in my show (plus added screenshots) pic.twitter.com/KvNbS0GnQY
— Fahd Husain (@Fahdhusain) May 12, 2026
The Pakistan Foreign Office (FO) issued a stinging rebuttal on Tuesday, May 12, 2026, describing the CBS report as “misleading, sensationalized, and detached from factual context.” Pakistan confirmed that Iranian and U.S. aircraft did arrive at Nur Khan, but they were part of the logistical support for the “Islamabad Peace Talks” during the April ceasefire.
The aircraft were used to transport diplomatic personnel, security teams, and administrative staff associated with the mediation process. Officials noted that Nur Khan Airbase is located in the heart of Rawalpindi; parking a “secret fleet” of Iranian military jets there would be physically impossible to hide from the public eye.
Independent analysts and local journalists have pointed out that the CBS story seems “slanted” to undermine Pakistan’s role as a neutral mediator. By framing diplomatic transport planes like the RC-130 as “military assets being shielded,” the report suggests a military alliance that both Islamabad and Tehran have categorically denied.
Read also:Asim Munir described as central link in Iran–US backchannel diplomacy: Sky News
