The Ayatollah of Iran openly made this statement about Israel: “Our stance against Israel is the same stance we have always taken. Israel is a malignant cancerous tumor in the West Asian region that has to be removed and eradicated: it is possible and it will happen.”
Does the United States of America have the wisdom and will to stop this monster nation? Will American leaders make the same mistake as President Carter in 1972?
Perspective
Usually, it is wise to believe the statements made by an aggressive adversary and take action against them. And yet, the United States has permitted this rogue nation of Iran the time to construct nuclear weapons, as well as a missile delivery system.
Iran has utilized various proxy terrorist organizations to attack U.S. military service men in Jordan, Iraq, Syria and elsewhere. Pentagon officials said 50 U.S. service members have been killed at several bases in Iraq and Syria by drone or rocket attacks fired by militant groups aligned with Iran between October 17 and 26, 2023.
In the past, after the British pulled out of their Mideast bases, the United States has depended upon Iran to fill London's shoes as the region's policeman. A stable Iran was essential to the stability of the region.
The fall of the Shah of Iran, Reza Pahlavi, occurred on February 11, 1979, during the Islamic Revolution. The Shah left the country on January 16, 1979, and Khomeini assumed control. Iran ceased being the reliable ally it once was. The Iran hostage crisis occurred soon afterward. Fifty-two American diplomats and citizens were held hostage by a group of militarized Iranian college students who supported the Iranian Revolution, took over the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and took them as hostages. The hostages were held for 444 days, from November 4, 1979 to their release on January 20, 1981. The crisis is considered a pivotal episode in the history of Iran–United States relations.
Operation Eagle Claw failure
U.S. President Carter’s efforts to bring an end to the hostage crisis soon became one of his foremost priorities. In April 1980, frustrated with the slow pace of diplomacy, Carter decided to launch a risky military rescue mission known as “Operation Eagle Claw,” which ended in disaster. It is believed this fiasco cost him a second term as president. Some think Iran kept the hostages during the Carter administration because he was "weak," but they feared Reagan’s resolve and acquiesced after he was sworn into office.
Iran is in a strategic geographical position in the tense Middle East and Far East region, an area that has been called the real center of the world. Iran at one time guarded the sea-lanes of the Persian Gulf which kept Iranian and Saudi Arabian oil flowing to the U.S., Western Europe and Japan. However, what used to be a force for good, is now our active enemy striving to organize a coalition against the United States. It has joined efforts with other nations to bring down the American dollar as a world currency.
Iran will likely be the power which will eventually bring the king of the South together spoken by Daniel the prophet (Daniel 11:40). The king of the South will extend all the way to Ethiopia (Daniel 11:43).
President Joe Biden responded to the terrorist Iranian proxies in Iraq and Syria and the U.S. military mounted a series of air and missile strikes, retaliating against them for a suicide drone strike that killed three American soldiers at a remote base in Jordan. The airstrikes used more than 125 precision munitions and struck more than 85 targets, the U.S. Central Command said in a statement.
Many believe the retaliation was too little and not the more powerful message needed to send to Iran. American leadership refuses to learn the lesson of Vietnam: if you go to war, you must have the resolve to fight to win! Even in the Bible, leaders are admonished to count the cost of entering a war before committing its forces (Luke 14:31-32).
America—a floundering superpower
But why is America afraid to act the part of the superpower? Has God done as He said if we ceased to trust in Him? God said He would break the pride of our power (Leviticus 26:19). “I will set My face against you, and you shall be defeated by your enemies. Those who hate you shall reign over you, and you shall flee when no one pursues you” (Leviticus 26:17).
Now more than ever, Washington's diplomacy is confused, its intelligence agency is lacking, and its military competence was greatly dramatized by the chaotic pull out from Afghanistan, leaving our soldiers and allies to die, and billions of dollars of military equipment were left to the Taliban. In his classic book, "Politics Among Nations," author Hans J. Morgenthau writes: "Diplomacy, one might say, is the brains of national power, as national morale is its soul." God says of modern Israel, in Isaiah 1:5: "The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faints.” The U.S. has faulty leadership and people lack the will and the morale to be the superpower it is.
Increasingly, some are dismayed by the foolish decisions of Washington D.C. There is a growing distrust of the leader of the free world. During the aftermath of World War II, no one doubted American power. The United States had a clearer foreign policy and a better vision of its place in the world and the will to use its power and influence. Little wonder our European allies are leaning toward more of a willingness to make their own policies independent of Washington's lead.
What is prophesied to happen to modern Israel? Ezekiel chapters 6 and 16 give a scenario of the coming great fall of the United States and the U.K. and God’s punishment of our people. Ezekiel 6:6 says our cities will be laid waste. In Ezekiel 16 God compares the U.S. and Britain to a strange kind of prostitute who pays her lovers:
“Now then, O harlot, hear the word of the LORD! Thus says the Lord GOD: 'Because your filthiness was poured out and your nakedness uncovered in your harlotry with your lovers, and with all your abominable idols, and because of the blood of your children which you gave to them, surely, therefore, I will gather all your lovers with whom you took pleasure, all those you loved, and all those you hated; I will gather them from all around against you and will uncover your nakedness to them, that they may see all your nakedness. And I will judge you as women who break wedlock or shed blood are judged; I will bring blood upon you in fury and jealousy. I will also give you into their hand, and they shall throw down your shrines and break down your high places. They shall also strip you of your clothes, take your beautiful jewelry, and leave you naked and bare’” (Ezekiel 16:35-39).
Iran will likely continue on its path to try to form a coalition of nations to destroy America. The war which began with Israel and Gaza continues to expand, and the awful scenario the prophet Ezekiel paints signals the coming destruction and captivity prophesied on the English-speaking world (Psalms 106:40-48).
Amidst all of these things happening in the world, God has a rescue plan for those who sincerely fear Him and keep His commandments. He forgives us and watches over us, so we need not fear.
This is my Perspective and the current edition of the Prophetic Times follows below:
Prophetic Times
Houthis sentence 13 to public execution on homosexuality charges – report
February 8, 2024 jpost.com reported:
A court of the Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen has sentenced 13 people to public execution on homosexuality charges, the French wire service AFP reported on Tuesday. Another 35 people have been detained for similar charges.
The ruling was made in Ibb, a Houthi-controlled province from which the jihadist group has been launching attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, opening a war that reached its four-month mark this week.
The Houthis have a history of sentencing more people to death than they actually execute, according to a 2022 report by the Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor, which counted 350 death sentences by the group since 2014, only 11 of which have resulted in execution. But the group’s attacks on global trade could change this calculus.
Ukraine calls for ‘urgent’ military help after fresh Russian strikes
February 8, 2024 spacewar.com reported:
Ukraine urged the West on Wednesday to speed up and increase deliveries of artillery shells after a new Russian missile attack on Kyiv and other regions killed four in the capital and wounded more than 40.
Securing the shells has been a priority for Kyiv, which is burning through its reserves as Russia throws more manpower and resources at the frontlines almost two years into its invasion. ‘We will respond to every missile, every Shahed (drone),’ Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his daily address, sending condolences to the families of the victims.
‘And our task this year is not only to maximize our air shield and long-range capabilities of Ukraine, but also to inflict maximum systemic losses on Russia,’ he said, after meeting with EU’s top diplomat Josep Borrell.
Ukraine’s commander-in-chief Valery Zaluzhny said Russia used drones, cruise, ballistic and anti-aircraft missiles in the barrage. He said Russia fired 20 drones and 44 missiles in the morning attack — with Ukraine shooting down 15 drones and 29 missiles.
‘Swarm of suicide drones’ attacks US army base in Syria in retaliation for Baghdad airstrike
February 8, 2024 jpost.com reported:
Explosions have been reported near a US army base in Syria, by the Hezbollah-affiliated Lebanese media network Al Mayadeen, on Wednesday.
The American base in the Al-Omar oil field in the Kurdish-controlled region of northeastern Syria, close to the city of Deir ez-Zor, American troops have been present here since at least 2017.
The base was attacked by a ‘swarm of suicide drones’ according to Egypt-based Bayan-gate news and is the second attack of its kind this week against US bases in the region. The attack has been linked to the retaliatory US airstrikes against Iranian-aligned groups and their positions, by Arab media.
The American airstrikes were a response to the three American service members killed at a base in Jordan, near the Syrian border earlier this week.
Israel says over a fifth of Hamas hostages are dead, more than previously thought
February 8, 2024 christianpost.com reported:
Israeli intelligence officers have concluded that more than a fifth of the 136 individuals still held hostage by Hamas in Gaza are dead, according to a confidential assessment which found more captives have been killed than expected.
The Israeli military confirmed the deaths of at least 30 of the more than 130 remaining hostages, according to a copy of the intelligence report reviewed by The New York Times. Meanwhile, unverified intelligence indicates that around 20 other captives may also be dead if unconfirmed reports prove to be true, four officials told the outlet.
The NYT reported Tuesday that the Israeli military said some of the deceased individuals were killed on Oct. 7, the day that Hamas launched its surprise attack against Israel. The assessment didn’t state whether hostages were killed by Israeli airstrikes.
Hamas proposes three-stage ceasefire over 135 days, leading to end of war
February 7, 2024 jpost.com reported:
Hamas has proposed a ceasefire plan that would quiet the guns in Gaza for four-and-a-half months leading to an end to the war, in response to a proposal sent last week by Qatari and Egyptian mediators and backed by the United States and Israel.
According to a draft document seen by Reuters, the Hamas counterproposal envisions three phases lasting 45 days each. The proposal would see terrorists exchange the remaining Israeli hostages they captured on Oct. 7 for Palestinian prisoners. The reconstruction of Gaza would begin, Israeli forces would withdraw completely, and bodies and remains would be exchanged.
Iran could weaponize its uranium in one week, new report says
February 6, 2024 jpost.com reported:
A new report from the Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS) is sounding the alarm on Iran’s closeness to going nuclear, upgrading its threat level to ‘Extreme Danger,’ the highest of its six ratings, for the first time since the group began following the Iranian nuclear program in the 1990s.
Since 2022, the report says, Iran’s ‘breakout’ time has been zero— that is to say, Iran ‘has more than enough… highly enriched uranium (HEU) to directly fashion a nuclear explosive.’ Uranium itself is not the only component required to fashion a nuclear weapon, though it is by far the hardest to come by…the report says.
‘[Iran] can break out and produce enough weapon-grade enriched uranium for a nuclear weapon in a week,’ it goes on, ‘using only a fraction of its 60 percent enriched uranium. This breakout could be difficult for inspectors to detect Moreover, using its remaining stock of enriched uranium, the country ‘could have in total enough weapon-grade uranium for six weapons in one month, and after five months of producing weapon-grade uranium, it could have…twelve.
Hashed chief demands withdrawal of US-led coalition from Iraq
February 5, 2024 spacewar.com reported:
The head of Iraq’s pro-Iran Hashed al-Shaabi alliance on Sunday demanded the withdrawal of US-led coalition forces from the country following deadly strikes.
‘They targeted administration offices, a (Hashed) hospital, they struck forces tasked with protecting the borders,’ Faleh al-Fayyad said at a funeral ceremony for members of the group killed in the US strikes.
‘Targeting the Hashed al-Shaabi is playing with fire,’ he warned. On Friday US strikes in the west of Iraq struck positions manned by pro-Iran groups, in response to an attack in January on a base in Jordan that killed three US soldiers.
The Hashed al-Shaabi, mainly pro-Iran paramilitaries now integrated into Iraq’s regular security forces, said 16 of its fighters were killed in Friday’s strikes and 36 people wounded. ‘We urge the prime minister to do everything in his power to defend the sovereignty and dignity of Iraq. And this can only be done with the departure of all coalition forces from Iraq,’ Fayyad said.
Kim inspects warships as North Korea prepares for conflict
February 2, 2024 spacewar.com reported:
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un inspected warships at a shipyard in a renewed drive to bolster his naval forces as his country ramps up ‘war preparations’, state media said Friday. In recent weeks, Kim has declared South Korea his country’s ‘principal enemy’, jettisoned agencies dedicated to reunification and outreach, and threatened war over ‘even 0.001 mm’ of territorial infringement.
He also recently hailed the test launch of a new strategic cruise missile from a submarine, calling it a key moment in the development of the North’s naval power.
‘The strengthening of the naval force presents itself as the most important issue in reliably defending the maritime sovereignty of the country and stepping up the war preparations at present,’ Kim said at the Nampho Dockyard, according to the Korean Central News Agency.
A nuclear-powered submarine was on Kim’s strategic weapons wish list set out at a key party congress in 2021, along with a hypersonic warhead, spy satellites and solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missiles.
