By Qamar Bashir
In the early hours of June 13, 2025, Israeli F-35I “Adir” stealth jets thundered across Iranian airspace under the cover of darkness. What followed was one of the most aggressive strikes in the history of the Middle East—targeting over a hundred strategic Iranian sites, including nuclear enrichment facilities at Natanz and Esfahan, as well as high-level command posts and residences of Iran’s top military leaders. The Israeli offensive, reportedly backed by U.S. intelligence and long in planning through joint CIA-Mossad coordination, left scores of Iranian personnel dead and hundreds wounded, including prominent IRGC commanders and nuclear scientists.
Israel believed this strike would be the final word, a demonstration of supremacy, and an assertion of impunity. Publicly, President Donald Trump attempted to distance the United States from the operation, claiming that Israel had acted alone. However, credible leaks from within the White House told a different story—this was not a rogue mission, but a meticulously coordinated assault approved at the highest levels of Washington. American satellites, logistical resources, and defense planners had all played their part in enabling what was, in essence, a premeditated act of war, cloaked in the garb of plausible deniability.
Iran, caught off guard by the deception that had masked this act of aggression as diplomatic engagement, was shaken but not silenced. Within hours, Tehran launched a blistering retaliation that would rewrite the military equations of the region. Operation True Promise III was not merely a response—it was a message sent in fire and steel. Over 150 ballistic missiles and more than 100 armed drones rained down on Israeli territory, with Tel Aviv and Haifa witnessing explosions that pierced through Israel’s once-vaunted multilayered defense system.
What was thought to be invincible—the Iron Dome, David’s Sling, Arrow-3, and Patriot batteries—was overwhelmed. Iranian missiles, including the newly unveiled Fattah-2 and Qassem Bassir hypersonic variants, reached speeds of up to Mach 15, maneuvered mid-flight, and evaded radar detection with alarming precision. These missiles, equipped with electro-optical guidance, penetrated the very core of Israel’s defense network. For a state that prided itself on technological supremacy and unmatched military intelligence, the breach was both tactical and psychological.
This was the first time in its modern history that Israel felt truly vulnerable. The belief that no power in the region could threaten Tel Aviv or breach its airspace had now been shattered. Hypersonic technology changed the rules. According to open-source estimates, Iran’s Fattah-2 system can only be intercepted 5 to 10 percent of the time—far below what any defense shield in the world today is capable of reliably neutralizing. In contrast, the Iron Dome interceptors, costing over $40,000 each, could not match the sheer speed and volume of the incoming Iranian projectiles. The sky over Israel, once guarded by billions of dollars in U.S.-funded defense infrastructure, became porous and unpredictable.
Iran’s response was not random. It targeted military installations, intelligence outposts, and symbolic structures like the Mossad headquarters and air defense command centers. Civilian casualties, while inevitable, were not the objective. In fact, Iranian officials went to lengths to stress that their operation was calibrated and proportionate—a response to Israel’s indiscriminate bombing of Tehran that killed civilians, including women and children. This retaliation, according to one Iranian academic, was meant to make Israel understand what it meant to live under the fear of sudden annihilation—something Palestinians in Gaza had endured for decades.
This conflict has laid bare not just the vulnerabilities in Israel’s military doctrine, but also the hypocrisy of Western political narratives. While Israel’s strike was praised in Western capitals as a legitimate act of self-defense, Iran’s retaliation was condemned as disproportionate and provocative. The same American lawmakers who struggle to agree on domestic policies like healthcare or education were suddenly unified in their support of Tel Aviv. This bipartisan alliance, fueled by lobbying, campaign contributions, and ideological allegiance, refused to acknowledge the fundamental truth: that Israel had violated Iranian sovereignty, launched an unprovoked attack, and triggered a conflict with dangerous global consequences.
And yet, the global tide is shifting. Public sentiment across Europe, Latin America, Asia, and even within the United States is no longer monolithic. The endless footage of Gaza’s ruins, the cries of orphaned Palestinian children, and now the images of Israeli neighborhoods under fire have started to humanize both sides of the equation. War is no longer a one-way story. Civilians, whether in Tehran or Tel Aviv, suffer the same pain, loss, and trauma. It is this human cost—so often hidden behind the veil of strategic calculus—that is now forcing the world to rethink its allegiance and moral posture.
The repercussions are not confined to Israel and Iran. Iran’s influence extends deeply into the Arab world. Through its network of allies and Shia militias in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and Yemen, Tehran holds the capacity to ignite a much broader regional war. Meanwhile, Sunni-majority nations like Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Egypt, though ideologically distant from Iran, remain cautious. Their reluctance to support Tehran stems from deep-rooted sectarian and geopolitical divisions. And yet, none of them have openly sided with Israel either. They remain paralyzed—watching, calculating, waiting.
There are reports—unverified but persistent—that Iranian systems may have downed at least two Israeli F-35 jets. These U.S.-made aircraft, the pride of Israeli air superiority, cost over $100 million each. The claim, if validated, would be a severe blow to both Israel’s military image and the reputation of American defense exports. Israel, which has long relied on technological dominance to deter regional adversaries, now finds its superiority publicly questioned.
But the ultimate lesson of this confrontation is not military—it is moral and political. Iran, a country sanctioned, demonized, and isolated by much of the West, stood alone. And yet it responded not with chaos, but with calculated, disciplined force. Israel, despite its alliances and unmatched resources, underestimated the capacity of its adversary. And in doing so, it may have permanently altered the strategic balance in the Middle East.
The path forward is narrow and perilous. Both nations now stand at the edge of an abyss. Escalation could engulf the entire region. The United Nations must intervene decisively, and nations with influence—be it the United States over Israel or Russia and China over Iran—must compel their allies to step back. Dialogue, not drones, must define the next steps.
Iran has made its point. Israel must acknowledge its limits. And the world must choose peace over vengeance. In a world already scarred by war, climate crisis, and division, the Middle East cannot afford another inferno. The time for pride is over. The time for peace is now.
By Qamar Bashir
Press Secretary to the President (Rtd)
Former Press Minister at the Embassy of Pakistan to France
Former MD, SRBC
Macomb, Michigan, USA
