In this file photo, a Pakistan Air Force JF-17 Thunder fighter jet takes off from the Mushaf base in Sargodha, northern Pakistan, June 7, 2013. PHOTO: REUTERS
ISLAMABAD:
Pakistan’s air force escorted Iranian negotiators home from stalled peace talks with the United States last weekend, launching a major operation after the Iranians said Israel might try to kill them, three sources told Reuters.
Pakistan deployed about two dozen jets in the escort, as well as the force’s airborne warning and control system for air surveillance, to ensure the safety of the delegation back from Islamabad, two Pakistani sources familiar with the operation said.
One said similar security protection would be provided for subsequent talks if the Iranians ask for it, “otherwise Pakistani aircraft would receive them in Pakistan’s airspace”.
A third source involved in the talks said measures were already underway ahead of an expected further round of talks as early as this weekend.
However, a regional diplomat briefed by Tehran said Pakistan insisted on the escort after Iranian delegates raised the “hypothetical” possibility of a threat.
The discussions with the Iranian delegation about a potential threat during the trip and the presence of a Pakistani air escort to Iran have not previously been reported.
The Israeli prime minister’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Iran’s permanent mission in Geneva did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Pakistan’s air force and military did not respond to questions about the operation. The US Embassy in Islamabad did not respond to a request for comment.
“When the talks failed, the Iranians were wary that things had not gone right. It was their suspicion that they might be targeted,” a security source said.
“This was a massive operational mission if you look at it from a pilot’s point of view. You take charge of a delegation that comes to talks, you give them air cover, you have potent fighters countering any threat,” he said.
The source involved in the talks, the highest level of engagement between the two countries since the 1979 Islamic revolution, confirmed the air escort but did not give details of the operation.
“We dropped them all the way to Tehran. Their safety was our responsibility even beyond their time here,” the source said.
Sunday’s mission to Iran included Chinese-made J-10 aircraft, the top jet in the PAF fleet, an official said.
The Iranian delegation, led by FM Abbas Araghchi and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, a former military officer and certified pilot, requested a security escort that goes far beyond normal protocol, the two security sources said.
The regional diplomat said the Iranians did not make a formal request but also “did not rule out the possibility that Israel could even attack the plane”, prompting Pakistan to insist on providing a security escort. The delegation did not land in Tehran, the diplomat said, declining to say where they were dropped off.
Israel had Araghchi and Qalibaf on its strike list until Pakistan asked Washington to intervene to have them removed because there would be no one left to negotiate the war the US and Israel launched on February 28.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said last month: “I would not issue life insurance on any of the leaders…”, referring to Iran.
