Pakistan nuclear arsenal controlled by US general, claims ex-CIA officer John Kiriakou

was convicted under the Intelligence Identities Protection Act for leaking classified information to a journalist, and served nearly two and a half years in prison.

In a dramatic revelation, former CIA officer John Kiriakou has claimed that Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal is effectively under the control of an American general, a move he alleges has forced India to recalibrate its approach to its western neighbour.

Speaking in a now-viral video clip, Kiriakou, who served as a CIA counterterrorism operative in Pakistan, said, “The command and control of Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal has been placed under an American general by the Pakistani government.”

He asserted that this arrangement has significantly reduced the nuclear threat in the region and may be one reason why India has “backed off” from escalation in recent years.

The explosive claim comes alongside fresh disclosures about a previously unconfirmed Indian military operation, a BrahMos missile strike on Pakistan’s high-security Nur Khan airbase, near the nerve centre of the country’s nuclear command.

In a rare admission, Rana Sanaullah, Special Assistant to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, confirmed that India’s BrahMos missile struck the Nur Khan airbase during Operation Sindoor.

According to Sanaullah, the attack threw Islamabad into “panic mode,” with top officials uncertain about whether the missile carried a nuclear payload.

Satellite imagery shared by Indian defence sources shows extensive damage to the base’s infrastructure, including radar sites, hangars, and parts of the runway. The base is one of Pakistan Air Force’s most strategic assets, home to air refuelling squadrons and key transport operations. Crucially, it is located just over a mile from Pakistan’s Strategic Plans Division, which oversees the country’s nuclear warheads, estimated at over 170.

Notably, Kiriakou, the source of the nuclear command claim, is no stranger to controversy.

He gained international attention in 2007 when he publicly confirmed the CIA’s use of waterboarding on al-Qaeda detainees, a disclosure that sparked global debate about torture and intelligence practices.

Later, in 2012, he was convicted under the Intelligence Identities Protection Act for leaking classified information to a journalist, and served nearly two and a half years in prison.