2019 Could Be the Year That a War with Iran Changes Everything -
Negotiations with Iran are over before they could even take place. After President Trump and Iranian leadership exchanged more insults on Tuesday, the Iranians declared that the "channel of diplomacy" is now closed "forever." Of course, anything is possible in the future, but for now, it appears that any possibility of a diplomatic solution is completely dead, and the clock is ticking because two exceedingly important deadlines are coming up within the next two weeks.
President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have both made it incredibly clear that they do not want Iran to possess nuclear weapons, and Iran's nuclear program is about to pass a critical threshold. Diplomatic negotiations were the only alternative to military action, and now it seems that military action is the only option left on the table. That means that we could literally be counting down the days before missiles start flying back and forth, and it will be a war that is far more terrible than we are being told by the mainstream media.
The Trump administration seems to believe that the new economic sanctions they just hit Iran with will alter the situation, but the truth is that they aren't going to really add much of anything to the economic sanctions that were previously imposed.
In response to these new sanctions, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani accused President Trump of suffering from "mental retardation":
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani blasted the sanctions against Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as "outrageous and idiotic," noting the 80-year-old Shiite cleric has no plans to ever travel to the USA. In remarks broadcast on Iranian state television, Rouhani said the White House suffers from "mental retardation."
Needless to say, President Trump was not amused by this. He subsequently went on Twitter and threatened that any sort of attack "on anything American will be met with great and overwhelming force":
Iran's very ignorant and insulting statement, put out today, only shows that they do not understand reality. Any attack by Iran on anything American will be met with great and overwhelming force. In some areas, overwhelming will mean obliteration. No more John Kerry & Obama!
That is quite a vague red line that President Trump has now established, and it means that it isn't going to take very much at all to start a war between the United States and Iran.
When the press later asked Trump about a potential exit strategy if war with Iran does erupt, Trump responded by saying "I don't need exit strategies":
Trump returned to the subject of Iran during an event in the Oval Office on Tuesday, reiterating his commitment that his administration would not allow Tehran to obtain nuclear weapons. Asked whether he had an exit strategy should a conflict arise with Iran, the president responded, "I don't need exit strategies."
So what does that mean exactly?
Is he saying that an exit strategy wouldn't be necessary because Iran would be bombed off the map?
When President Trump called off the airstrikes against Iran at the last minute and talked about the potential for negotiations, many were hopeful that a peaceful solution could be achieved. But if you are seeking to negotiate with someone, it is probably not a good idea to slap the foreign minister from the other country with personal economic sanctions. For the Iranians, this was apparently the final straw:
"You say you really want to hold talks with us but at the same time you're saying that you want to boycott and sanction our foreign minister, so you're lying," Rouhani said.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said on Twitter that the latest sanctions will result in "closing (the) channel of diplomacy forever," according to Iranian state-run television Press TV.
Not that negotiations with the Iranians would have yielded anything anyway. But we must find some way to avoid World War III, because a war with Iran would unleash global chaos that the United States is simply not prepared to handle.
Unfortunately, President Trump is currently surrounded by war hawks, and he appears to be completely convinced that he does not need congressional approval before going to war with Iran:
During a portion of an interview with Hill.TV released on Monday, President Trump said he doesn't need approval from Congress before launching strikes against Iran.
Trump said, "I like the idea of keeping Congress abreast, but I wouldn't have to do that."
Actually, the U.S. Constitution is very clear on the matter.
Just because the Constitution has been ignored by previous presidents does not mean that it is not binding.
And there is a move in Congress right now that could potentially stop a war with Iran. Surprisingly, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says that he may actually allow a vote on a "bipartisan amendment" that would "block funding for military action against Iran":
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Tuesday said he's willing to vote on a controversial amendment that would require Congress to approve any military action against Iran, but warned colleagues it could signal disunity in Washington to a foreign adversary.
McConnell said he's open to voting on a bipartisan amendment sponsored by Sens. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and Tom Udall (D-N.M.) that would block funding for military action against Iran without prior congressional approval.
Of course, Trump could just veto anything that gets pushed through Congress, and there would not be enough votes to override his veto.
However, the Constitution still says that President Trump must get congressional approval before going to war, and nothing is going to change that. If Trump chooses to disregard the Constitution and go to war anyway, it will be one of the worst decisions of his presidency so far.
And as I mentioned earlier, the clock is ticking. As Haaretz has noted, two exceedingly important deadlines are coming up within the next two weeks:
Iran announced in mid-June that by the 27th of the month it will exceed the uranium stockpile limit set by Tehran's nuclear deal with world powers, pushing tensions with the U.S. into uncharted and potentially dangerous territory.
The June 27 deadline comes ahead of another, July 7, the deadline for Europe to come up with better terms for Iran to stay in the accord. If that second deadline passes without any action, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani says the Islamic Republic likely will resume higher uranium enrichment, a move that would breach the terms of a nuclear pact with world powers.
A war with Iran could potentially start as soon as next month, and right now Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is in the Middle East as he seeks to build a "global coalition" against Iran. The following comes from a transcript of remarks that Pompeo made to the press on Sunday just before he left on his trip:
I'm heading out today. Our first stops will be in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, two great allies in the challenge that Iran presents, and we'll be talking with them about how to make sure that we are all strategically aligned and how we can build out a global coalition, a coalition not only throughout the Gulf states but in Asia and in Europe that understands this challenge and that is prepared to push back against the world's largest state sponsor of terror.
When the U.S. starts to put together a "global coalition," I think we all know what that means.
War is coming, and it could have apocalyptic consequences.
I have never been more concerned about a war with Iran than I am right now. The Iranians have restarted their nuclear program, and the U.S. and Israel have both made it abundantly clear that they will take military action before the Iranians get too much farther.
At this point a peaceful solution appears to be out of the question, and so all of us should start preparing for the most terrifying war that the Middle East has seen since the days of World War II.
To the Edge of War - By Hal Lindsey -
https://www.hallindsey.com/ww-6-23-2019/
Iran has been a thorn in the side of the United States, Israel, and the Sunni Muslim nations of the Middle East since January of 1978. For the US, it started with the Iran hostage crisis soon after the revolution. That lasted from late 1979 until the day of Ronald Reagan's inauguration, January 20, 1981 - 444 days. In the 80s, there was the Tanker War, which was really a subset of the Iran-Iraq war going on at the same time. It required American intervention to keep oil flowing.
All the while, Iran has been funding terrorists the world over, and working to build and deploy nuclear weapons. They have also worked closely with North Korea to develop intercontinental ballistic missiles with which could send those nukes anywhere in the world.
For centuries, Russia and Iran were enemies. But since the Revolution, those two nations have been growing steadily closer and more dependent on one another. Now, along with Turkey (another former enemy), they have created an alliance in Syria. Bible prophecy students see the profound significance of this. The prophet Ezekiel foretold an alliance led by those specific nations that will one day attack Israel.
On Thursday, the United States prepared to launch an air assault on certain Iranian installations. This was to have been in response to Iran shooting down a drone that the US says was in international air space. A few days earlier, Iran attacked two oil tankers traveling through the Strait of Hormuz. But at the last minute, President Trump canceled the air strike. He said that he decided the response would not be proportional to the shooting down of a single drone.
Iran's actions seem to be those of a desperate nation, hoping the United States will make a mistake. US sanctions continue to bite hard into Iran's economy. That makes their foreign adventures in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, Yemen, and elsewhere even more of a burden. But though their financial strength has diminished, their ambitions have not. They still want to impose their specific brand of Shia Islam on the entire Middle East, and eventually the world.
Meanwhile, the US is still fighting in Afghanistan, with other troops scattered across the globe. In recent weeks, US military force has been explicitly threatened against both Iran and Venezuela. There remains an implied threat against North Korea. America's Navy is being used to try to slow down China's expansion in the South China Sea. The world is heating up, and even the mighty US military can't keep it all under control.
But even with all its commitments elsewhere, the United States must respond to Iran. As Israel learned from bitter experience, when a Muslim nation strikes, that strike must be answered. President Trump is right to make sure that we don't overrespond. But he must respond... unless Iran shows itself ready to begin negotiating in good faith.
It's possible that may have happened. We've now learned that after the President issued his warning to Iran about an imminent US airstrike, the Iranians contacted the Swiss ambassador for talks. Since the US has no embassy in Iran, they call the Swiss in order to communicate with the United States. It may only be a stall for time, but the US can ill afford another war right now.
Biblically, the important thing has been Russian President Vladimir Putin's response. He said that any US attack against Iran, "would be a catastrophe, at a minimum, for the region."
When it comes to his ally, Iran, he seems intent on keeping the US at bay. For now, their unlikely partnership keeps Iran in business. But one day, it will lead to the greatest disaster in those nations' histories. Because God promises that when Russia (Magog) and Iran (Persia) attack Israel, God Himself will fight and destroy the invaders.
400-Year-Old Prophecy Connects Recent Events in Iran to the War of Gog and Magog - By Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz - www.breakingisraelnews.com
"Hashem has a sword; it is sated with blood, It is gorged with fat- The blood of lambs and he-goats, The kidney fat of rams. For Hashem holds a sacrifice in Bozrah, A great slaughter in the land of Edom." Isaiah 34:6 (The Israel Bible�)
Last Thursday, Iran shot down a $130 million U.S. Global Hawk surveillance drone with a surface-to-air missile over the Strait of Hormuz. Two weeks ago, two oil tankers were attacked with Limpet mines attached magnetically to their hulls. After an investigation, the U.S. blamed Iran for the attacks. But is this all the fulfillment of a 400 year old prophesy from a famous Torah commentator? What we do know is that the very location where all of these events took place matches that of the prophesy itself.
The Strait of Hormuz is the focus of tensions between the U.S. and Iran with the potential to spark off a multinational conflict. It is important to note that the Straits of Hormuz were specifically identified as the flash-point that sets off the pre-Messiah conflict of Gog and Magog.
The Strait of Hormuz is a vital shipping route linking Middle East oil producers to markets in Asia, Europe, and North America. It has been the focus of regional tensions for decades. 21 miles wide at its narrowest point, the shipping lane is just two miles wide in either direction and is highly susceptible to attack. About one-fifth of the entire global consumption of oil passes through the Strait of Hormuz. It is also the route used for nearly all the liquefied natural gas (LNG) produced by the world's biggest LNG exporter, Qatar. The U.S. Fifth Fleet, based in Bahrain, is tasked with protecting the commercial ships in the area.
The Jewish blogger known as Shirat Devorah noted that the Strait of Hormuz, or Basra, was identified as the location of the War of Gog and Magog by Rabbi Shlomo Ephraim ben Aaron Luntschitz, a 16th-century Polish Torah scholar known by the pseudonym 'Kli Yakar'. Shirat Devorah cited the Rabbi Luntschitz as identifying the Strait of Hormuz as the location of the War of Gog and Magog. In his commentary on the Book Of Isaiah titled Kli Paz, Rabbi Luntschitz identifies Basra, sometimes transliterated Bozrah, as the location.
Hashem has a sword; it is sated with blood, It is gorged with fat- The blood of lambs and he-goats, The kidney fat of rams. For Hashem holds a sacrifice in Bozrah, A great slaughter in the land of Edom. Isaiah 34:6
It should be noted that the name 'Hormuz' is derived from a Persian word meaning 'date palm' but historically, cartographers referred to the location as the Strait of Basra.
The Kli Yakar wrote in his commentary on the verse, that this section of the Book of Isaiah was indeed describing the War of Gog and Magog.
"It will take place in Bozrah which is called Hormuz. And there will be a great killing in the land of Edom, and thunder will come down with them and bulls with knights (as written in the next verse) because this will be a day of reckoning for God, a day to fight for Zion. And this is to say that many kingdoms from the other nations will join with Edom This distant country is named Botzrah, and it is on the border between Assyria and Persia (Iran) and the border of Edom. Hormuz is now under the rule of Ishmael. And blessed is the one who knows the truth of these words. For it is there that the war in the end-of-days may take place."
Rabbi Yekutiel Fish, an expert in Jewish mysticism who blogs in Hebrew under the title 'Sod Chashmal,' was convinced that the current political conflict will escalate.
"This is just the beginning," Rabbi Fish told Breaking Israel News, noting that many prominent rabbis are calling for Jews to move to Israel as soon as possible. "This situation in the region is very serious. According to our calculations, there will be a war by the end of the summer, certainly before the Jewish high-holidays."
"People should not look to political solutions or even solutions from a natural source. The war will go far beyond that and the only solutions, the only hope is from heaven."
Rabbi Pinchas Winston, a prolific author and expert on classical Jewish sources pertaining to the end-of-days, explained that even if the political tensions do not explode into all-out war, a biblical perspective is the only way to understand the implications.
"This recent flare-up in the Strait of Hormuz is certainly another step in the process leading up to Gog and Magog," Rabbi Winston told Breaking Israel News. "All of the prophetic writings describe Persia, or as we know it today, Iran, as having a major role as an instigator in the final pre-Messiah war."
"It could be that this last flare-up was a false start in order to give people a chance to wake-up and do tshuva (repent)," Rabbi Winston said. "The final confrontation will be like the music stopping in musical chairs. A lot of people will misunderstand the situation and think that everything is okay.
"It is important to properly understand this process and the only way to do that is by seeing it from a Biblical perspective, as a part of the end-of-days, as a lead-up to Gog u'Magog. If you don't have that perspective, then your brain will always find a way to deny even the most obvious facts in order to convince you that this is business as usual."
Rabbi Winston explained that this is what happened to Chamberlain before World War II when he tried to appease Hitler; Chamberlain did not understand the context.
"Nobody wants to go to war but if you see Iranian aggression as a build-up to Gog u'Magog, you will understand the context and the possible implications and the outcome. If you don't have the mentality, you are going to miss the boat."
A slightly different opinion was given by Rabbbi Ken Spiro, a historian and Senior Lecturer and Researcher for Aish HaTorah Yeshiva, who focused on the interplay between the U.S. and Iran.
"In end-of-days scenarios, there are two parallel tracks for Gog and Magog: the world united against Israel, and another in which Ishmael and Esav fight each other," Spiro told Breaking Israel News. "They will both play out simultaneously. Christianity and Islam have been fighting since the inception of Islam in the 7th Century. But they can put those issues aside to passionately fight Israel."
"Even though they are not Arabs, Iran is the most radical representative of Ishmael," Rabbi Spiro explained. "Esav is being led by the Euro-leftists who try to delegitimize Israel through NGO's. At the same time, there has always been a conflict between Christianity and Islam which are offshoots of Judaism."
"If a war breaks out, you can expect Iran's proxies, like Hezbollah, to attack Israel," Rabbi Spiro said. "They are the front-line troops but they aren't the real source of the threat to Israel."
Will Iran's Attacks on the US and Allies Escalate? - by Majid Rafizadeh - https://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/14447/iran-attacks-escalate
Criticism continues to fly at the Trump administration in response to the White House's attempts to deter Iran's threats. Despite increasing acts of violence, and aggressive behavior towards the US, President Trump is criticized by some people for his determination to hold the Iranian government accountable.
By using its military to attack the US and its allies, the Islamic Republic has been unabashedly resorting to hard power tactics. Iran's actions are clear; there has been virtually no attempt on its part to disguise hostile intentions. Why is there no international outrage? The mainstream media continue to fail to report adequately Iran's attacks. There has been no focus placed on the increase over the past two months of these attacks.
The Iranian government's policy appears to be two-pronged. The first facet seems linked to instructing its proxies across the region to attack and wreak havoc on entities linked to the United States, European countries, and Gulf states.
Last week, a U.S.-linked location in Iraq was attacked. Reportedly, 40 workers employed by the energy giant Exxon Mobil were forced to evacuate in southern Iraq after coming under rocket fire.
The Houthi attack on a Saudi oil installation and the rocket that landed near the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad have also been tied to the Iranian regime and its proxies. Each of these assaults has in some way caused harm to US interests.
It was recently leaked that the head of the Quds Force, Gen. Qassem Soleimani, instructed a conglomerate of more than 40 militia groups, which operate under the banner of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), to "prepare for proxy war."
The second prong of Iran's policy of violence appears to consist of direct military assaults. In the last two months, six oil tankers have been attacked. First, four tankers were targeted in the port of Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates. A month later, a pair of tankers crossing the Gulf of Oman off the coast of Iran were sabotaged with explosives; one of the tankers went up in flames and both were left adrift.
The Strait of Hormuz, situated between the borders of Iran and Oman, one of the world's most crucial waterways, used to transport roughly 33% of total global seaborne traded oil. These attacks cause global fear and impact businesses worldwide.
Iran's fingerprints are all over these aggressions. It is believed that the attacks on the tankers were directly carried out by the Iranian regime because of the high level of sophistication. The incident was not isolated; it was apparently premeditated and organized, implying that there may well be more such attacks in the works.
As U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo pointed out, "This assessment is based on intelligence, the weapons used, the level of expertise needed to execute the operation, recent similar Iranian attacks on shipping and the fact that no proxy group operating in the area has the resources and proficiency to act with such a high degree of sophistication."
Iran's overt attacks included shooting down a United States military drone. The head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Maj. Gen. Hossein Salami, threatened that shooting down the drone was a warning to the U.S. He added that, "the only way for our enemies to be safe is to respect our sovereignty, national security, and the national interests of the great Iranian nation".
On several occasions, the Trump administration invited Iran to the negotiating table in an attempt to deescalate tensions. It is Iran that rejects the talks and continues to act aggressively, all while openly threatening the U.S. and its allies.
In a tweet mentioning Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Iran's Supreme Guide Ali Khamenei wrote:
"You said Mr. @abeshinzo, that Trump has said negotiations with the U.S. would lead to Iran's progress. By the Grace of God, without negotiations & despite sanctions, we will progress."
In a meeting with Abe, Khamenei also pointed out that, "I do not consider Trump, as a person, deserving to exchange messages with. We will not negotiate with the United States."
Why, therefore, are the critics of the Trump administration so extremely quick to condemn the president, while they are comfortable disregarding Iran's attacks? Do they expect the U.S. to sit idly by, watching while the Islamic Republic carries out flurries of offenses across the region? Do they expect the U.S. to turn a blind eye as Tehran attempts to further destabilize the region in order to impose insecurity and fear worldwide, and advance its revolutionary and parochial interests? How many people must be threatened, tortured, or slaughtered, before Trump's response will be deemed warranted?
Does trilateral Jerusalem summit indicate Russia's willingness to restrain Iran? -
National security advisers from Russia and the U.S. joined their Israeli counterpart in Jerusalem on Tuesday for a high-level conference, which was called by Israel to look for ways to restrain Iran in Syria.
The results of the conference were not immediately clear, but the fact that it took place was touted by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as an indication of Russian and American recognition of Israel's centrality as a strategic regional actor. It also indicated a Russian willingness to address Israeli concerns over Iranian conduct in Syria, according to Israeli officials.
Russian President Vladimir Putin dispatched his national security advisor, Nikolai Patrushev, to Jerusalem, where he met with Israel's Meir Ben-Shabbat, and America's John Bolton at the Orient Hotel on Tuesday.
In a statement prior to the summit, Ben-Shabbat said that in-depth discussions have been ongoing between Netanyahu, and the Russian and American leaderships.
He warned that the international community will not be able to promote security and stability in the region "without restraining the ambitions and actions of Iran. The events of the recent period give an additional reminder of this conclusion."
In his comments at the summit, Patrushev backed Iran's role in Syria, saying that Tehran is "contributing a lot to fighting terrorists on Syrian soil and stabilizing the situation there."
However, he did offer an acknowledgement of Israel's security interests.
"We pay special attention to ensuring Israel's security," he said, adding that it is "a special interest of ours because here in Israel live a little less than about two million of our countrymen. Israel supports us in several channels, including at the U.N."
As expected, Bolton strongly disputed Iran's positive contributions to Syria, even pointing out that Putin had called for Iran to leave the country.
"The Russians have said repeatedly that they would like to see Iranian forces leave," he said
'The Syrian balance of power'
During a conference call with journalists, organized by Media Central, a media liaison center based in Jerusalem, Col. (res.) Eran Lerman, a former senior Israeli defense official, discussed the significance of the conference.
"Israel is a player in the Syrian balance of power," he said. "The Russian leadership has a very healthy respect, based on experience and knowledge, for Israeli military capabilities ... this is why this conversation takes place here," he said.
Lerman served as the deputy director for foreign policy and international affairs at the National Security Council in the Israeli Prime Minister's Office. He has also held senior posts in military intelligence for more than 20 years.
Ideally, he said, Syrian President Basher Assad would be pressured by Russia to oust the Iranians altogether. "But I think we have a fairly realistic assessment, and that is not on the cards," he said. "So we hope for a very clear delimitation and a capping of Iranian penetration [of Syria]. Gradually getting rid of the Shi'ite militias that the Iranians have been bringing in. And a very clear limit on how much the Iranians can use Syrian territory."
Iran has increasingly been seeking to use Syria, both to destabilize Jordan, and launch attacks on Israel, noted Lerman. While making very specific commitments would be unwise, he said, "clearly, Israel will not tolerate an Iranian presence close to the Golan Heights, or a few kilometers to the north."
But beyond that, he stated, the general policy that Israel would hope for from Moscow is a clear signal, according to which, if Assad wishes to have Moscow comfortably at his side during the very difficult period of rebuilding Syria, "he needs to be much more proactive in not letting the Iranians run the country."
Lerman described the summit as "groundbreaking," adding that "unavoidably, this will be extended to the broader situation in the region. I think we can confidently say that this is part of broader of Israeli diplomacy and the repositioning of Israel in international affairs. It is quite remarkable."
Israel's intimate dialogue with Russia is a critical development, he added, "despite major differences."
"I don't expect a major breakthrough overnight in Syria. The Russians are in no position to secure the removal of all Iranians from Syrian soil. But I think we can speak about significant progress towards a mutual understanding between all three participants," he stated.
The question of whether Iran will continue to use Syria to attack Israel, threaten Jordan and consolidate its hold on Lebanon, or whether Iran will be marginalized and Russia becomes the key player in stabilizing Syria, lies at the heart of the summit, argued Lerman.
Asked about Russian expectations in exchange for pressure on Iran, Lerman said that further down the road, once the dialogue turns into more concrete steps, "there will be asks on their part from the American side, and greater flexibility from the American side [regarding Russia] than there is now." However, this is "not something that will happen overnight," he assessed.
Lerman also drew a connection between the Jerusalem conference and the economic workshop taking place in Bahrain over the economic future of the Palestinians.
"Israel has already demonstrated that it is willing to take risks-we are willing to take action, we are willing to take violent action when necessary in order to ensure that Syria cannot easily be used by Iran for its purposes," he said. This willingness to confront Iranian ambitions helped spur Gulf states, which are threatened by Iran, to "be of help in redefining the Israeli-Palestinian relationship."
In a statement released during the conference, Netanyahu said that "one of the reasons why the [great] powers are coming here ... is, of course, the strength of the IDF."
He launched the conference with a speech, in which he acknowledged that Israel "acted hundreds of times" to prevent the military consolidation of Iran in Syria. He warned that Israel would continue to prevent Iran from using the territory of states neighboring Israel as a base for attacks and would respond forcefully to any Iranian-orchestrated attack.
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