Pakistan keeps cashing in on U.S. partnerships while staying positioned as a backchannel to Tehran—an uneasy arrangement that can undercut America’s leverage against a hostile regime.
Story Snapshot
- Pakistan’s “double game” is less a single scandal than a long-running pattern of balancing U.S. security ties with geographic and political realities next door to Iran.
- Pakistan has served as Iran’s “protecting power” in the United States since 1980, creating an enduring diplomatic conduit after U.S.-Iran ties broke following the 1979 revolution.
- Cold War and post-9/11 cooperation brought Pakistan major U.S. military and economic support, but also recurring American doubts about reliability and end-use priorities.
- Key historical milestones include the 1950 U.S. outreach by Pakistan’s early leadership, the 1956 Peshawar air station used for Soviet intelligence, and the 1979 Afghanistan war partnership.
A “double game” built into geography and history
Pakistan’s balancing act between Washington and Tehran is rooted in hard geography and decades of transactional diplomacy, not a single breaking-news event. Pakistan borders Iran and cannot treat it like a distant adversary, yet Islamabad also built deep ties with the United States through Cold War anti-communism and later counterterror operations. The result is a recurring pattern: cooperation when U.S. aid and security interests align, paired with hedging to avoid regional isolation.
Pakistan’s early alignment with the U.S. developed soon after independence, as Soviet outreach faltered and Pakistani leaders sought Western backing. Over time, the relationship leaned heavily military, with Pakistan’s armed forces and intelligence services often serving as primary interlocutors for Washington. That structure can deliver short-term operational cooperation, but it also concentrates decision-making in institutions whose priorities may diverge from U.S. objectives—especially when Pakistan’s rivalry with India drives strategic planning.
How U.S.-Iran hostility made Pakistan a diplomatic conduit
U.S.-Iran relations were upended by the 1979 Iranian Revolution, after which formal diplomatic ties collapsed. Pakistan’s unique role emerged in the aftermath: it has served as Iran’s protecting power in the United States since 1980, meaning it can facilitate limited communications and consular matters in a relationship otherwise frozen. That intermediary role is central to why analysts describe Pakistan as “running with the hare and hunting with the hound” in this regional triangle.
The longer history matters because it explains the distrust on all sides. U.S.-Iran tensions trace back through major flashpoints, including the 1953 coup that restored Iran’s shah after conflict over oil nationalization—an episode still cited as a foundation for Iranian suspicion of American motives. When Washington later shifted from partnership with the shah to hostility toward the revolutionary regime, Pakistan was left managing neighborhood realities while maintaining its own dependence on U.S. assistance and security cooperation.
Security cooperation: big U.S. investment, recurring doubts
U.S.-Pakistan cooperation intensified during the Cold War and surged after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. Pakistan became a major staging ground for anti-Soviet efforts, with coordination between U.S. and Pakistani intelligence services. Earlier, the U.S. leased Peshawar Air Station in the 1950s for Soviet spying—an arrangement described as highly secretive at the time. These episodes show why Washington viewed Pakistan as strategically valuable, but also why the partnership often revolved around covert or military channels.
After 9/11, Pakistan again became central to U.S. operations in Afghanistan, including basing and other cooperation under the Musharraf government. Yet the research record also reflects enduring American concerns about Pakistan’s end-use priorities and strategic intentions. Former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf later acknowledged that some U.S. assistance was diverted toward Pakistan’s India-focused security posture. Those kinds of admissions reinforce why U.S. policymakers have periodically questioned whether aid translates into aligned outcomes.
What the historical record can—and can’t—confirm in 2026
The available research does not show a single new escalation or definitive, post-2020 “double game” turning point by March 2026. Instead, it documents a durable status quo: Pakistan remains positioned between U.S. pressure on Iran and Pakistan’s own need to manage a powerful neighbor across a shared border. With U.S.-Iran tensions persisting and regional conflicts continuing to destabilize the Middle East, that ambiguity keeps Pakistan relevant—but also keeps the risk of mixed incentives alive.
For Americans who want clear alliances and accountable foreign aid, the core issue is simple: partnerships built on expedience can produce results in the short run, but they also create openings for hedging when interests diverge. The documented history shows Pakistan repeatedly leveraging U.S. engagement for security and economic benefit while maintaining channels that reduce Iran’s isolation. Without more current, independently verified data, the safest conclusion is that the pattern persists—strategic ambiguity by design.
Sources:
Pakistan–United States relations
History of US and Iran relations: A timeline
