Iran likely to attack US bases in Middle East

More than 40,000 US service members and civilians — as well as billions of dollars in military equipment — are in the Middle East, spread out across bases in Syria, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. Those working in countries closest to Iran, including Iraq and Kuwait, would conceivably have only minutes to prepare for an incoming Iranian strike. The Hill suggests, President Donald Trump should order the US military to join Israel’s bombing campaign.

Israel, last week unleashed a barrage of airstrikes on Iran that set off the largest conflict ever between the two regional adversaries, with Tehran responding with its own attacks.

Trump has not yet decided on possible US military action against Iran, telling reporters through his top spokesperson that he would make his decision within two weeks.

In response, Iran has threatened to directly attack US forces should they enter Israel’s war campaign, with the country’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei warning Wednesday, “Americans should know that any US military intervention will undoubtedly be accompanied by irreparable damage.” 

Tehran’s threats aren’t idle, as the country has retaliated against Washington in the past, most notably in January 2020, when Trump in his first term ordered an airstrike that killed Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran’s elite Quds Force.

The strike, which happened as Soleimani traveled to Baghdad, prompted a swift response from Iran, which days later hammered Al-Asad Air Base in Iraq and another US base in Erbil with 13 ballistic missiles. While no Americans were killed in the largest ballistic missile attack ever against US forces abroad, more than 100 were later diagnosed and treated for traumatic brain injuries.

Reportedly, Trump is considering using the GBU-57 — known as the Massive Ordnance Penetrator or so-called bunker buster bomb — to damage Iran’s Fordow nuclear enrichment facility, a similar attack from Tehran can’t be ruled out. Iran has the ballistic missiles ready to go, those strikes could happen in less than 15 minutes.

 

Iranian missiles hit Israeli port city

According to CNN, nearly two dozen people were wounded in parts of Israel on Friday after Iran unleashed a fresh barrage of missiles. Foreign ministers from the Britain, France, and Germany met their Iranian counterpart in Geneva on Friday.

The talks come as US President Donald Trump says he will decide within two weeks whether to join Israel’s ongoing military campaign against Iran, amid reports that Washington is actively considering intervention.

Iran said the latest attack targeted “military objectives, defense industries, and command centers” in Israel, a spokesperson for the country’s Revolutionary Guard said.

Haifa's mayor stressed need for peace after the Iranian missile barrage on Friday.

The “name of the game is peace,” Yona Yahav, mayor of the northern Israeli city, told CNN. He said the two-week deadline set by President Donald Trump to decide on whether the US will join Israel’s military action on Iran is too long.

Speaking to CNN’s Nic Robertson from the city in the aftermath of a fresh Iranian missile barrage, Mayor Yona Yahav confirmed that no one had been killed in the attack.

According to Israeli emergency services, a total of 21 people were injured in Haifa during the attacks, including three with severe injuries.

Yahav also said “I don’t like wars,” after having personally experienced 10 of them, adding that the “name of the game is peace.”

He said his culturally mixed city has been a mostly peaceful home to both Jews and Arabs for over 100 years.

When asked about the talks that are being held in Geneva between Iran and European countries, Yahav said he hoped that a peace treaty would be the ultimate end result.

The mayor said that the two-week deadline President Trump had given to decide US actions on Iran was “too much,” as he said it is difficult for residents to live while wrapped up in war.

“A fixed answer I can’t get from Trump, and this bothers me,” he said.

“Because I like stability, and I think that he has to give me this stability.”

PSX benchmark index down 1.74%WoW

Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) maintained a bearish momentum during the week ended on June 20, 2025. The benchmark index closed the week at 120,023 points, down 2,120 points or 1.74%WoW.

Average daily trading volume declined by 9.4%WoW to 822 million shares, from 907 million shares a week ago.

The week began with the Pakistan’s central bank maintaining a status quo decision on Monday.

Several macroeconomic data points were released during the week: for May 2025 current account deficit was reported at US$103 million and net FDI inflow at US$194 million.

Auctions during the week witnessed a reduction in PIB cut-off yields, while there was an increase in T-Bill cut-off yields.

Foreign exchange reserves held by State Bank of Pakistan rose by US$46 million to US$11.7 billion as of June 06, 2025.

PKR depreciated by 0.26%WoW against the greenback.

Other major news flow during the week included: 1) LSM index was up by 2.3%YoY in May, 2) IT exports surged to US$3.5 billion in 11MFY25, up 19%YoY, 3) Urea/DAP sales rose by 5%YoY and 135%YoY during May, 4) GoP launched National Electric Vehicle Policy, and 5) Draft tariff policy for 2025-30 unveiled.

Woollen, Jute, Modarabas, Close-end mutual funds and Transport were amongst the top performing sectors, while Power, Engineering, Inv. Banks/ Inv. Cos/ Securities Cos, Glass & Ceramics, and Tobacco were the laggards.

Major selling was recorded by Mutual Funds with a net sell of US$9.9 million followed by Insurance companies with a net sell of US$3.4 million. Individuals absorbed most of the selling with a net buy of US$15.6 million.

Top performing scrips of the week were: BNWM, YOUW, PABC, HGFA, and EFUG, while laggards included: PKGP, MUGHAL, KTML, TRG, and FCEPL.

 According to AKD Securities in the short term, market performance would be influenced by the ongoing regional conflict between Iran and Israel. However, the brokerage house expects the market to remain on positive trajectory.

The forecast is based on strong earnings in Fertilizers, sustained ROEs in Banks, and improving cash flows of E&Ps and OMCs, benefiting from falling interest rates and economic stability.

Top picks of the brokerage house include: OGDC, PPL, PSO, FFC, ENGROH, MEBL, MCB, HBL, LUCK, FCCL, INDU, and SYS.

 

 

Western media paving way for Israel to act against Iran

In the wake of Iran’s missile response on Israeli military centers, a wave of media and diplomatic reactions has started in the West and Israel seeking to pave the way for intensifying strikes and engineering a global consensus against Tehran through resorting to playing blame game and highlighting civilian casualties. 

The propaganda, supported by the Zionist security and media as well as Western mainstream, aims to provide the audience with a biased narration of the recent developments, introducing the Islamic Republic as the country that creates crisis and threat, not a nation giving a natural defensive response to the aggression.

In this regard, Western media such as CNN, BBC, and FOX News try to depict an emotional and dramatic image of attack on Soroka Medical Center, while, Iran targeted military and security positions and has not confirmed any reports on damage against medical centers.

Similarly, Israeli media has initiated a propaganda campaign regarding the medical center to take advantage of the incident, turning it into the symbol of Iran’s crimes in a bid to prepare ground for the international arena to pile more pressure on Iran.

What is important about this campaign is that it excludes Israel’s aggression on the Gaza Strip, aggression on Syria, assassination of the Iranian scientists, and continued violation of regional countries’ sovereignties. 

It presents a biased narration to the global audience, drawing attention to the emotional and biased consequences of Iran’s response, not explaining the reasons for the natural reaction.

What is taking place is a multi-layered project to play the blame game, manage public opinion in the world, and pave the way for exerting further political, security, and military pressure on Iran. 

To react effectively against this media hype, it is necessary for pro-Resistance media and independent elites to correct this narration, clarifying the defensive and deterrence nature of this response since it is regarded as legitimate and essential for nations to effectively respond to continued acts of aggression.

Who has killed more civilians? Israel or Iran

The killing of civilians in conflicts involving Israel and Iran is a deeply complex and politically charged issue. A cursory look show the following:

Israel:

The recent killing in Gaza and earlier conflicts show a high number of civilian casualties caused by Israeli military actions. In the ongoing Gaza conflict – post October 07, 2023, thousands of Palestinian civilians, including women and children, have been killed due to Israeli airstrikes and ground operations.

UN, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and other observers have accused Israel of disproportionate use of force and potential war crimes.

However, Israel claims it targets militants and Hamas infrastructure, and blames Hamas for operating among civilians.

Iran:

Iran has been involved indirectly in several regional conflicts through proxy groups like: Hezbollah (Lebanon), Houthis (Yemen) and Shiite militias (Iraq, Syria). These groups have been accused of launching rockets or attacks that have killed civilians in Israel, Saudi Arabia, Syria, and Yemen.

Iran’s direct role in killing civilians is less visible, but its support of armed groups has fueled violence that resulted in civilian deaths.

Media reports suggest Houthi attacks on Saudi airports and civilian targets; Hezbollah rockets into Israeli towns; Syrian regime backed by Iran targeting civilian areas.

It may be concluded that Israel is directly responsible for a large number of Palestinian civilian deaths, particularly in Gaza.

Iran is indirectly responsible through its proxies, contributing to civilian casualties across the region.

Both Israel and Iran (often through proxies) have been responsible for civilian deaths, but Israel's military actions tend to cause more immediate, large-scale casualties, especially in Gaza. Iran’s impact is more indirect, spread across multiple countries and conflicts.

As regards the most recent conflict between Israel and Iran, which has escalated sharply in mid‑June 2025, following are the observations:

Recent Israeli airstrikes on Iran

As part of a large-scale bombing campaign targeting nuclear and military sites—including Arak, Natanz, Isfahan, and Tehran—Israel launched over hundreds of airstrikes on Iran beginning around June 13, 2025.

According to Iranian human rights monitors, less than 650 people have been killed, of whom around 260 are civilians.

Official Iranian health authorities report 224 civilian deaths, with over 90% of casualties in hospitals being women and children.

Independent sources estimate fatalities ranging from 400 to 650, with up to 260 civilian deaths.

Iranian retaliatory strikes on Israel

Iran has fired approximately 450–650 ballistic missiles and drones at Israeli territory. These strikes have resulted in at least 220 to 240 deaths in Israel, including around 24 civilian casualties.

Israeli strikes on Iran are currently responsible for significantly more civilian deaths—estimates far exceed 200—while Iran’s retaliatory attacks have caused dozens of civilian fatalities in Israel.

It is a fact that civilians in both the countries have been killed.

The largest civilian toll is currently in Iran, due to Israel’s ongoing air campaign.

In Israel, Iranian missiles and drones have also killed civilians, though on a much smaller scale.

 

 

 

Israel raises false flag Iran targeting hospital

Amid escalating conflict between Tehran and Tel Aviv, Iranian officials and media sources have denied claims that Iranian missiles targeted a hospital in southern Israel. 

The denials come in response to reports in Hebrew-language media alleging that an Iranian missile struck Soroka Medical Center in Beersheba.

The false narrative is part of a psychological campaign aimed at sanitizing Israel’s military image and concealing the extent of the blow to its intelligence infrastructure.

As mentioned by Al Jazeera, Soroka Hospital has been used by the Israeli military to treat soldiers wounded during operations in Gaza. However, Iranian sources stress that the hospital itself was not the intended target.

Soroka Hospital is located between two major Israeli military sites, the IDF’s main intelligence headquarters and a central command facility, both of which are situated in the Gav-Yam Technology Park. 
These installations reportedly serve as critical hubs for Israel's cyber operations, digital command systems, and military intelligence infrastructure (including IDF C4I and C4ISR systems).

Hospital sustained shockwave damage from nearby blasts, it was not directly hit, Iranian reports emphasize.

Israel has been accused of engaging in psychological warfare by falsely linking the missile strike to civilian infrastructure, in order to deflect attention from the damage inflicted on its military command network.

Contrary to this, Israeli strikes targeted two civilian hospitals in Iran — one in Tehran and another in Kermanshah — an action that has drawn little international condemnation.

Thursday morning’s missile barrage, claimed by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), was a "precise and direct" strike against military assets — not civilian targets.

 

Israeli attacks on Iran, what it gained or lost?

No one could believe that the United States or Israel launch attacks on Iran in the middle of a diplomatic process. The sixth round of indirect nuclear talks with the US was scheduled later in the week. There were expectations a breakthrough was possible this time.

US President Donald Trump had urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to avoid attacking Iran. Even if Trump is "crazy," many analysts argued, he seemed capable of clear thinking when it came to West Asia, understanding that another war in the region - especially one that involves Iran - would benefit no one.

However, Trump turned out to be just as crazy and ignorant as people knew he was. He provided Israel with logistics and intelligence needed to strike residential buildings, nuclear facilities, and military sites across Iran while a meeting was scheduled in Oman.

Why did Israel attack Iran?  

Netanyahu claims the attacks aimed to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons a justification few accept, even those minimally informed about Iran s nuclear program.  

The IAEA and Western intelligence agencies have confirmed time and time again that despite nuclear advancements, Iran has neither pursued nuclear weapons nor demonstrated political will to do so. If Iran develops such weapons in the future, it will likely be a direct result of Israel s brazen aggression, making them feel such arms are necessary.

Israeli attacks on the Natanz and Fordow nuclear facilities failed to cause significant damage. As per Iran's nuclear chief's latest announcement, both sites are currently operating normally. This did not come as a surprise, as the whole world had known for a while that the main part of Iran's nuclear facilities are placed deep under the ground, and that it is impossible to destroy them with conventional weapons.. 

To understand why Iran was attacked, we must first examine the Israeli offensive.  

Israeli operation against Iran comprised of three elements: 1) assassinating military leaders, 2) attacking nuclear sites, and 3) terrorizing civilians.  

Israel believed its offensive would result in three things: 1) The assassination of top Iranian commanders would delay or prevent retaliation, 2) All or a significant number of Iran's missile launchers, depots, and military sites would be destroyed through Friday's campaign, and 3) Killing of Iranian civilians and striking the heart of Tehran would pit the people against the government and spur an uprising

All assumptions proved false. While the loss of five of its top military leaders did deal a blow to Iran, it did not cripple the Iranian Armed Forces. Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei took only a couple of hours to replace the assasinated generals. 

While analysts don't know how much damage Israel has managed to inflict on Iran's military assets, it is clear that a large part of the country's defensive and offensive calibilties are still in tact. 

Since the conflict began, Iran has launched multiple waves of missile strikes against the occupied territories, hitting critical targets like the Haifa oil refinery, the Mossad and Aman headquarters, military bases, and nuclear research centers. The Iranian Armed Forces claim they have enough missiles to hit Israeli targets every day for two years.  

Another Israeli prediction that proved false was that given the various financial and societal issues gripping Iran in recent years, the people would choose to topple the government in order to "save" their lives.

Netanyahu issued a message to the Iranian people, and later did an interview with a US-based Persian speaking channel to tell them he was only at war with the government, and that he wanted to bring Iranians freedom and prosperity.

The Israeli aggression only made Iranians more united and even prompted well-known individuals with a long history of anti-goverment activisim to rally behind Ayatollah Khamenei.

What Israel gained or lost? 

Netanyahu managed to gain a temporary period of Euphoria. Settlers in the occupied territories are accustomed to waging war not facing existential threats. For the first time in Israel s history, its citizens fear for their lives. Iranian missiles strike at will, a reality Israelis recently confronted. As Hebrew media reports, residents barred by authorities from fleeing now pay smugglers to transport them by boat to Cyprus.

Journalists say they are appalled at what's happening, military analysts say Israel's interceptors, which have so far only downed older Iranian missiles designed to preoccupy air defense systems, will be out soon.

Netanyahu and Trump essentialy entered a war they can not finish. It appears Israel failed in estimating Iranian capabilities. They may have to sit back and watch how Iran writes the ending to their story.