Rooma News: Washington signals "massive attack" could follow while Tehran signals openness to negotiation — Hormuz tensions push oil and food prices to new highs across the region.

 

Vol. XLII • No. 206

✦ Islamabad, Pakistan ✦

Saturday, July 25, 2026

Rooma News

Truth Without Borders — From the Heart of the Capital

Founded & Edited by Rooma Mehmood • Islamabad

World • Pakistan • Economy • Opinion

Price: Free

World

Pakistan

Economy

Security

Climate

Opinion

Obituaries

■ Breaking — World

US Strikes Iran for 13th Night

as Talks Inch Forward

Washington signals "massive attack" could follow while Tehran signals openness to negotiation — Hormuz tensions push oil and food prices to new highs across the region.

The United States carried out its thirteenth consecutive night of precision strikes against Iranian military targets, aiming to degrade the capacity of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to threaten commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

President Donald Trump, speaking from the White House, warned that an attack "bigger than ever before" remained on the table, even as he acknowledged that direct talks with Tehran were underway and that Iranian officials had shown greater seriousness about reaching a diplomatic agreement.

"Diplomacy, not further escalation,

remains the only sustainable path."

Iran's retaliatory actions have broadened across the region. Reported strikes on US-linked facilities in Bahrain, Jordan, and Kuwait have raised the spectre of a wider regional war. Houthi forces allied with Tehran struck two oil tankers overnight, drawing immediate vows of punishment from American commanders.

The conflict's economic reverberations are being felt far beyond the Gulf. Energy markets remain volatile, and food prices in import-dependent nations — Pakistan foremost among them — continue to climb. Pakistan and Qatar have jointly proposed a return to pre-July 9 positions as the first step toward restarting stalled negotiations.

Today in Brief

Economy

S&P upgrades Pakistan's sovereign rating to 'B' with stable outlook, citing improved external position and reform progress.

Energy

Petrol rises Rs 3.66 to Rs 335.18/litre; diesel up Rs 4.80 to Rs 383.46. The fifth consecutive fortnightly hike.

Weather

Monsoon drizzle offers relief in Karachi following a punishing heatwave. Seasonal flood toll continues to mount nationwide.

Space

A change-of-command ceremony takes place aboard the International Space Station as a new mission phase begins.

Pakistan

■ Security

Militant Assault Kills 15 in Tank District Checkpoint Attack

A coordinated assault on a joint security checkpoint near the Afghan border in Tank district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, killed fifteen people overnight — including twelve soldiers, two police officers, and one forestry official.

The banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan claimed responsibility. The attack began with a suicide vehicle-borne explosive device followed by a wave of armed gunmen. Security forces repelled the assault, killing twelve militants in the engagement.

The attack underscores continuing vulnerability along the western border, as militant groups seek to exploit regional distraction and logistical gaps in intelligence coordination.

■ Economy

Fuel Hikes Bite as S&P Upgrade Offers a Rare Bright Spot

Pakistan's petrol and diesel prices rose again on Saturday — the latest in a run of fortnightly hikes tied directly to the Gulf conflict and volatile global oil markets. For transport operators and low-income households, relief remains elusive.

Yet the week also brought the country its most significant recent economic endorsement. S&P Global Ratings raised Pakistan's long-term sovereign credit rating to 'B' from 'B-', with a stable outlook, citing progress on macroeconomic stabilisation, improved foreign-exchange reserves, and structural reform momentum.

Analysts caution that an upgrade translates slowly into daily life; many citizens will feel the fuel price before they feel the rating change.

■ Climate

Monsoon Brings Relief to Karachi, but Flood Deaths Mount

After a debilitating heatwave, Karachi received welcome monsoon drizzle on Saturday, lowering temperatures and offering respite to a city strained by power outages and water shortages through the preceding weeks.

Elsewhere the picture is grimmer. Pakistan's seasonal death toll from rains and flooding has climbed sharply in recent weeks, with dozens of additional fatalities reported in the latest rainfall spell across Sindh and Balochistan.

Punjab authorities have highlighted improvements in urban drainage response in Lahore and Gujranwala, crediting investment in drainage infrastructure initiated last year. Climate experts warn that extreme-weather events are intensifying with each passing season.

Editorial

■ Editor's Column — Rooma Mehmood

Between Escalation and Exhaustion

The world wakes once more to the familiar sound of missiles and the quieter, more corrosive noise of rising prices and insecurity. The renewed US-Iran confrontation, now stretching into its second major phase of 2026, has become the defining geopolitical crisis of the year.

For Pakistan the effects are immediate and twofold. Fuel prices climb day after day, squeezing households and transport operators already strained by inflation. At the same time, the security environment on the western border remains fragile — the deadly attack in Tank a grim reminder that militant groups continue to exploit any distraction or vacuum.

The credit-rating upgrade offers a rare bright spot. It signals that external observers see genuine progress in economic management. Yet upgrades mean little to citizens facing higher petrol bills, or families mourning soldiers. Pakistan's reported mediation efforts with Qatar are constructive and should be encouraged.

Security operations must be paired with political outreach in the tribal districts so that the population does not feel permanently caught between militants and the state. In an interconnected world, no conflict stays local for long. Restraint, dialogue, and competent governance at home remain the only reliable answers.

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