The United States stepped in to defuse escalating tensions between Pakistan and India after an Indian missile strike on Pakistan’s Nur Khan Airbase in Rawalpindi raised fears of a potential nuclear escalation, the New York Times reported.
While Vance initially remarked in a May 8 interview with Fox News that the conflict was “fundamentally none of our business,” the situation changed rapidly as intelligence indicated that Pakistani and Indian air forces had engaged in aerial combat.
Previously, Trump administration officials revealed to CNN that the US received alarming intelligence during the escalating conflict between India and Pakistan, prompting top officials, including Vice President JD Vance, to intensify American involvement.
Nuclear-armed India and Pakistan stood on the brink of full-scale conflict after days of rising tensions, until US President Donald Trump announced that both nations had agreed to an “immediate and full ceasefire.”
Without disclosing the nature of the intelligence, citing its sensitivity, the CNN report stated that a core group of senior US officials, including Vice President Vance, Secretary of State and interim National Security Adviser Marco Rubio, and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, had been closely monitoring the situation.
However, the most alarming development came late on May 9, when explosions struck Nur Khan Airbase, located in Rawalpindi. The base serves as a key transport and refuelling hub for the Pakistan Air Force and lies just kilometres away from the Strategic Plans Division – the command overseeing Pakistan’s estimated 170 nuclear warheads.
A former US official familiar with Pakistan’s nuclear posture told the paper that Islamabad’s longstanding fear is a decapitation strike on its nuclear command infrastructure. The Indian strike on Nur Khan was reportedly interpreted as a potential signal of such an intention.
According to a senior Pakistani intelligence official quoted in the Times, Rubio’s engagement was instrumental in helping both sides agree to a ceasefire.
The official said Pakistan viewed the strike on Nur Khan as a red line, particularly given its proximity to the country’s nuclear infrastructure.
“US intervention was necessary to pull the two sides back from the brink,” the intelligence source said. “The last move came from the president,” he added, referring to US President Donald Trump.
On May 10, President Trump announced that India and Pakistan had agreed to an immediate ceasefire.
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