Pakistan reportedly used decoy fighter jets to avoid Israel attacking Iranian negotiators

Pakistan have reportedly used fighter jets and intelligence to thwart an alleged plan by Israel to shoot down the jet carrying Iran’s highly-qualified negotiators attending talks with Donald Trump’s relatives and golf buddies.

Israel’s plans to kill Iran’s top surviving team in order to thwart talks were already known, but supposedly shelved under pressure from the US. However, Pakistani intelligence believed that Israel would attempt to shoot down the negotiators’ plane either en route to, or returning from, the talks in Pakistan.

The Pakistan air force used recently-supplied Chinese J-10C fighters for the escort mission. This led to claims that China’s air force also participated in the escort, but this does not appear to have been the case.

The Times of India also reports that Pakistan’s intelligence services spoofed flight-tracking data and ran decoy flights to deceive Israeli forces.

Iran’s delegation flew to Pakistan in a plane dubbed the ‘Minab 168’ in honour of the schoolchildren murdered by the US at the start of the US-Israel illegal war on Iran. All of Iran’s negotiators hold PhDs. Trump’s delegation consisted of his son-in-law, a golfing buddy, and an estate agent.

Viral image: Iran’s Islamabad delegation features four PhDs—Ghalibaf, Araghchi, Ahmadian, and Hemmati—signaling a technocratic, expertise-driven team.

In contrast, the U.S. side—JD Vance, Steve Witkoff, and Jared Kushner—appears driven more by political proximity. pic.twitter.com/ArxVa2OM0n

— Ramy Abdu| رامي عبده (@RamAbdu) April 12, 2026

Israel has a track record of murdering, or attempting to murder, peace negotiators in an attempt to thwart truce talks, including its notorious bombing of the capital of US ally Qatar and its 2024 assassination of Ismail Haniyeh in his Tehran hotel room.

Featured image via the Canary