Since the Islamic Revolution in 1979, Iran has been the champion of the Shi'ite branch of Islam. Now their
leadership harbors a deep hatred for the United States, whom they call "The Great Satan," and Israel, "The Little Satan."
Even though they have immense supplies of oil, they have claimed to need nuclear power as well. It is now admitted by the International
Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the United Nation's nuclear watchdog, that their goal is the development of nuclear weapons. At the
beginning of 2012 experts believe that it will take only a year or less for them to become a deadly threat to Israel, the Middle East,
and United States.
Iran figures prominently in Bible prophecy because they are the direct descendants of the Persians, who are mentioned in
Ezekiel 38 as key allies of Magog, a powerful nation in the North that many prophecy scholars have tentatively identified as
Russia. Together with other nations, these allies will engage Israel in a future war against Israel. See
The War of Gog and Magog.
Notice: Sources often remove their news links after a period of time. Some of them move older stories to a
subscription-only section. Even if the story is no longer on line, our summary will still be available on this page.
Names translated from other languages may have different spelling, depending on the source. For example
Gadhafi may be translated "Gaddafi," etc.
May 29, 2012 - Iran and other Middle Eastern countries are concerned about a new computer worm, dubbed "Flame." It is being
called "the most sophisticated virus of all times." Similarities to the Stuxnet virus make it likely that it was developed by the same expert
programmers, but it does not damage equipment like Stuxnet did. Instead, it steals important information. It has been able to overcome 43
different anti-virus programs.
Flame can gather data files, remotely change settings on computers, turn on PC microphones to record conversations, take screen
shots and log instant messaging chats.
It is not known who is behind "the most sophisticated virus, but the U.S. and Israel were believed to have produced Stuxnet. Experts believe that
only a state could have developed such a complex virus.
May 26, 2012 - The Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS) says that Iran now has enough uranium for at
least five nuclear weapons if refined much further.
Friday's report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), a Vienna-based UN body, showed Iran pressing ahead with its
uranium enrichment work in defiance of UN resolutions calling on it to suspend the activity.
May 23, 2012 - In Baghdad, six global powers -- United States, Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany -- began talks with
Iran to hopefully resolve the dispute over their nuclear program. Iran claims their nuclear work is only for peaceful purposes, but the
world powers are concerned that they are developing nuclear weapons.
Diplomats have said the Baghdad round of talks, only the second since diplomacy resumed in April after more than a year, may yield
initial concessions from all sides. But a breakthrough could still be far off.
Despite some remaining differences, a deal has been reached with Iran that will allow the UN nuclear agency to restart a
long-stalled probe into suspicions that Tehran has secretly worked on developing nuclear arms, the UN nuclear chief said Tuesday.
May 22, 2012 - The US Senate has unanimously approved a bill that will impose tougher sanctions on Iran if they continue to
enrich uranium.
"Today the US Senate put Iranian leaders on notice that they must halt all uranium enrichment activities or face another round of economic
sanctions from the United States," said Republican Senator Mark Kirk, a co-author of the bill, in a statement.
This strong message from the Senate comes just days before world powers will meet with Iranian representatives in Baghdad, Iraq.
The secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council has said that the country will not back down an inch in the face
of Western pressure to relinquish its rights to advance its peaceful nuclear program
May 16, 2012 - U.S. Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro said that the U.S. is ready to strike Iran's nuclear developments if necessary.
He said,
"It would be preferable to resolve this diplomatically and through the use of pressure than to use military force. ..But that
doesn't mean that option is not fully available - not just available, but it's ready."
May 15, 2012 - Talks will begin on May 23 in Baghdad between top world powers and Iran about ending their pursuit of nuclear
weapons. Israelis fear that Iran will agree to a preliminary compromise that will not actually stop its work but would limit Israel's
option of a pre-emptive strike. On an army radio interview, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said,
“If the demands are expressed in the minimalistic manner which we suspect, Iran could agree to all of them, and still be able to
continue progressing toward a nuclear weapon. In such a case these talks will not help in stopping Iran.”
May 15, 2012 - Majid Jamali Fashi, who was an agent for the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad, was hanged at Tehran's Evin Prison. He was convicted
in 2010 for killing an Iranian nuclear scientist, Massoud Ali-Mohammadi, by detonating a remote-controlled bomb attached to his motorcycle.
May 14, 2012 - As the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) begins two days of talks with Iranian officials it is urging
them to allow inspectors to visit key sites, including the Parchin military complex.
The agency believes that site was used by Iran to test multipoint explosives of the type used to set off a nuclear charge. Iran
denies such experiments and insists it has no plans to turn its civilian nuclear program to making weapons.
May 10, 2012 - Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh answered questions about the complex developments in the Middle
East now that Israeli leadership has been united. He said that if Israel carries out a pre-emptive strike against Iran Hamas will
not let itself be dragged into a war against Israel.
"Hamas is a Palestinian movement that acts within the Palestinian arena and it carries out its political and field actions in a way that
suits the interests of the Palestinian people... Iran did not ask anything from us and we think Iran is not in need of us."
May 2, 2012 - Iranian Navy Commander Rear Admiral Ali Fadavi told university students that Iran is able to position its naval
vessels near the United States. He said:
"Our naval forces are so powerful that we have a presence in all the waters of the world and, if needed, we can move to within three miles
of New York."
He also claimed that their military has the abillity to cripple or disable US aircraft carriers.
April 30, 2012 - According to a new Jerusalem Post poll, the vast majority of Israelis would support an attack against Iran if it was
led by America, leading an international consortium of air forces.
Seventy-two percent would back an international strike, while just 14% would oppose it, and 14% did not express an opinion.
On the other hand only 45% would be in favor of an Israeli attack without the US support.
April 26, 2012 - While Iran publicly claims it has not yet decided to make nuclear weapons, the UN indicates that they already have enough
enriched uranium for six bombs. A former undercover CIA agent in Iran's Revolutionary Guard, who goes by the pseudonym Reza Kahlili, claims that
the country appears to be in the last six months of preparation for an all-out war, which they believe will usher in the return of their messiah,
the Mahdi (or 12th Imam) to destroy all of Islam's enemies.
Mahdi will only reappear, Shiites believe, when Israel is destroyed and the U.S. is brought to its knees; [and] two-thirds of
the world’s population will die in a nuclear exchange.
Nine years ago Kahlili wrote a book, The Last Six Months. It describes the conditions that Iran's leaders believe will lead to Mahdi's return.
The 9/11 attacks and the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq are preludes to even greater signs: Attacks on Syria and then on Iran itself. Current
conditions make both of these events plausible today.
April 24, 2012 - North Korea's failed launch of their long-range Unha-3 rocket was not only a disappointment for them, but also
for Iran in their efforts to develop a missile that could
threaten the United States and Europe.
The Islamic Republic's aerospace industry has depended on North Korean -- as well as Chinese and Russian -- technology and expertise to
develop its strategic missile force, generally seen as a means of delivering the nuclear warheads that ... Tehran is driving to produce.
April 15, 2012 - An Israeli TV broadcast a detailed report of Israel's plans to carry out a military strike against Iran if
diplomacy and sanctions fail to stop their nuclear developments. The report was cleared by the military censor.
No order to strike is likely to be given before the P5+1 talks with Iran resume in May, the reporter, Alon Ben-David, said. “But the coming
summer will not only be hot but tense.”
Apr. 15, 2012 - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was critical of the process of nuclear talks between Iran and six
world powers. He said that the decision to continue talks in May is like a gift for Iran, that give the country more time to continue
enriching Uranium.
The prime minister repeated his position that "Iran needs to stop all uranium enrichment immediately, to take all the enriched
material out of the country, and to dismantle its nuclear facility at Qom."
The six "world powers" that sent representatives to meet with Iranians were the US, UK, France, China, Russia and Germany. The meeting
was held in Istanbul ,Turkey.
April 11, 2012 - The biggest air force exercise ever conducted in the Gulf region is now underway with 200 warplanes. Some one hundred
of them were launched from the USS Enterprise and USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carriers and their strike groups near Iranian shores.
The Saudi, UAE, Kuwaiti and Bahraini air forces contributed the other 100...in an unprecedented show of military solidarity with the US.
The Iranian ambassador to Kuwait warned that Iran would attack the Gulf nations taking part in the exercise unless they withdrew at once.
Israel Defense Forces officials told cabinet ministers on Monday that should Israel undergo a coordinated missile attack,
there would be less than 300 Israeli casualties.
If Israel were to attack Iran's nuclear facilities they could expect missile attacks from the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, Syrian army, Hezbollah
in Lebanon, and terror organizations in Gaza. The response could last for three weeks. Thousands of missiles and rockets would strike Israel. There
would be severe damage to property and infrastructure, and hundreds of people would be wounded.
The estimate of 300 deaths is lower than earlier projections.
The UN Security Council has imposed four sets of sanctions on Iran because of suspicions over its nuclear programme, which the
United States and its allies believe includes a drive to develop atomic weapons capability.
In response, Iran's Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said that sanctions have caused Iran some small problems, but, he said "we will
continue our path."
Mar. 29, 2012 - A recent war simulation conducted by the U.S. projected that an Israeli attack against Iran's nuclear facilities
would result in the death of 200 Americans. This implies that the death of Americans would be on Israel's hands. In the meanwhile, Pentagon
spokesman George Little announced that the Defense Department would be seeking more money to help Israel fund the Iron Dome antimissile
defense system. Columnist Amir Oren gives his opinion of what this means:
When [Israeli Defense Minister Ehud] Barak thanked the Obama administration "for helping strengthen Israel's security," he was
abandoning the pretension to act against Iran without permission before the U.S. presidential elections in November.
In essence this was an announcement that this war was being postponed until at least the spring of 2013.
Mar. 25, 2012 - President Obama met with Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan on the eve of a nuclear security summit in Seoul. Following
that meeting he warned Iran that if diplomatic solutions fail to halt their nuclear weapons program, they will face military intervention.
"I believe there is a window of time to solve this diplomatically, but that window is closing," Obama told reporters.
Mar. 24, 2012 - Persecution of Christians has led to a booming underground church in Iran and young people in that country are unhappy
with their Islamic leaders after what they consider a false re-election of their radlical president.
The number of Muslims converting to become Christians is growing at an explosive rate, according to the persecution watchdog group
Open Doors USA.
Mar. 14, 2012 - For the first time since Iran's 1979 revolution, Iran's President has been summoned to the country's parliament
and asked to defend his actions, and especially his apparent challenge of the supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei.
One question asked the president to explain his justification for his 11-day absence from government meetings last April after
the supreme leader reinstated the Intelligence Minister, Heidar Moslehi, whom Mr Ahmadinejad had just sacked.
Mar. 9, 2012 - According to DefenseNews.com U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Herbert Carlisle talked about a new 13,600-kilogram
bunker-buster bomb that would be able to smash through a 200-feet concrete bunker.
Speaking at the conference on the U.S. defense programs, Carlisle said that the bomb was "a great weapon," specially designed to attack
countries like Iran which have their nuclear facilities buried underground.
Mar. 8, 2012 - Unnamed Western diplomats said that during the meeting between President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
the US administration offered to supply Israel with advanced bunker-busting bombs and long-range refuelling planes if Israel would agree not to
attack Iran until 2013, after the November elections in the US.
Mar. 6, 2012 - Israel's threat of a pre-emptive military strike against Iran's nuclear facilities has apparently led Iranian
negotiator Saeed Jalili to invite fresh discussions about their nuclear progress. Iran insists there is no military element to its nuclear
program, but the last round of talks ended in failure in January more than a year ago. EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton agreed to the talks
on behalf of the five UN Security Council members plus Germany. She said the EU hopes that this will signal "a sustained process of constructive
dialogue which will deliver real progress" in resolving the issue.
Iran had earlier said it was prepared under certain conditions to grant inspectors from the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency
(IAEA) access to the key military site of Parchin.
Mar. 5, 2012 - President Barack Obama will meet with Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu today. The intelligence experts
at DEBKA predict that President Obama will stick with his position that a military strike would be “premature” and that economic and diplomatic
pressure against Iran need more time to produce results.
Even before hearing what Israel had to say, Obama was resolved to oppose military action on Iran and not be moved on this. Now he is
additionally determined to put his Israeli visitor in his place and draw a line on Jerusalem’s influence in Washington - both as a
lesson to Jerusalem and an incentive for Tehran.
Feb. 28, 2011 - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak told top-level U.S. visitors to the country,
that Israel would not warn the U.S. before striking Iran's nuclear facilities.
Israeli officials said that if they eventually decide a strike is necessary, they would keep the Americans in the dark to decrease the
likelihood that the United States would be held responsible for failing to stop Israel's potential attack.
Feb. 26, 2012 - In order to deal with a possible military confrontation with Iran in the Strait of Hormuz, the Pentagon has notified
US lawmakers of plans to use new mine-detection and clearing equipment and improved surveillance capabilities.
Iran's military and political leaders had earlier warned they could close the strait -- a key transit route for global oil
supplies -- if increased Western sanctions over Tehran's suspect nuclear program halt Iranian oil exports.
Meanwhile, the UN atomic agency reported that Iran has substantially boosted uranium enrichment, and the agency "continues to have serious
concerns regarding possible military dimensions" of Iran's nuclear program.
Feb. 25, 2012 - Iran's Deputy Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi warned Israel not to attack Iran's nuclear facilities.
"Israel is weaker than it has ever been and its army is tired and humiliated… This is why it is trying to solve its problems
by talking about taking action against Iran... Iran's warriors are ready and willing to wipe Israel off the map."
Feb. 22, 2012 - International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) official Herman Nackaerts said that his team went to Iran "in a constructive
spirit," but they "could not find a way forward" in attempts to persuade Iran to talk about their suspicion that their country was developing
nuclear arms. The team has returned to Vienna and a statement was issued that acknowledged the talks had failed.
Feb. 21, 2012 - To prepare for a possible military strike by Israel against Iran's nuclear sites, defensive drills will be
conducted by Iran to counter "all possible threats, especially to public, important and nuclear centers".
"The exercises aim to reinforce the integrated abilities of the country's anti-air defences," said a statement from the Katem-ol-Anbia
military air base, quoted by the official Irna news agency.
Feb. 20, 2012 - While analysts say that an Israeli strike against Iran's nuclear facilities are likely, Iran's Foreign Minister,
Ali Akbar Salehi, insists that their nuclar program is only for peaceful purposes. He said that Tehran was prepared for any "worse-case scenario"
in order to defend its nuclear aspirations.
Feb. 16, 2011 - Joel C. Rosenberg, best-selling author and authority on Middle East affairs, told a Pastor's Conference in
Jacksonville that Iran and Israel will soon be thrown into a war. He said this developing threat will one of the most
dangerous moments in the history of Israel, the Middle East, and the church.
Rosenberg acknowledged that many pastors feel that prophecy has become "sensationalized" today, causing people to not take it seriously anymore.
But he said that pastors should not shy away from the facts or ignore biblical prophecy.
"Prophecy is an intercept from the mind of an all-knowing and all-seeing and all-powerful God," he said. "It is meant to
inspire, motivate and encourage. It will lead to repentance, holiness, and prayer and fasting."
Presidential candidate Newt Gingrich was in the audience.
Feb. 15, 2012 - In an elaborate televised ceremony, Iran unveiled the latest achievements in its nuclear development program:
use of their own nuclear fuel and installation of new and better centrifuges. A video showed their President Ahmadinejad inspecting
the process of installing domestically-made nuclear fuel rods in a reactor.
The government unveiled the "new generation" of faster, more efficient uranium enrichment centrifuges at its Natanz facility ...
The head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation, Fereydoon Abbasi Davani, said they were three times more efficient than their existing capacity.
Feb. 14, 2012 - According to Joseph Farah’s G2 Bulletin Israel has placed under-cover ships in the Arabian Sea, near the
mouth of the Gulf of Oman. In that position they may be used for the vital "C4ISR" functions (Command, Control,
Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance).
This would give the Israelis the capability of not only intelligence-gathering on Iranian communications of its missile and air defense
activities but also to coordinate attacks employing jet fighters, missiles and missile-carrying submarines.
Feb. 13, 2012 - Vice Admiral Mark Fox, commander of the U.S. 5th Fleet, says that Iran has submarines and fast attack craft, some
with large warheads attached that could cause considerable damage in a suicide attack. They also have a large inventory of mines that they could
use to stop traffic in the Strait of Hormuz.
[He] told reporters at the naval force's Bahrain headquarters that the Navy has "built a wide
range of potential options to give the president" and is "ready today" to confront any hostile action by Tehran.
Source: YNet News
<
a href=http://www.foxnews.com/world/2012/02/11/iran-to-make-major-nuclear-announcement-within-days-ahmadinejad-says/>
Iran to make major nuclear announcement within days, Ahmadinejad says
Feb. 11, 2012 - At a rally commemorating the 33rd anniversary of the Islamic Revolution, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
said that Iran will soon unveil "big new" nuclear achievements.
Within the next few days the world will witness the inauguration of several big new achievements in the nuclear field,"
Ahmadinejad told the crowd in Tehran's famous Azadi, or Freedom, square.
Feb. 9, 2012 - A document that represents the bellief of Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is now circulating on the Internet.
The document, written by strategy specialist Alireza Forghani, outlined the reasons why, "In the name of Allah, Iran must
attack Israel by 2014."
The document calls Israel "cancerous tumor for the Middle East." It says that even though Israel has not yet struck Iran, its occupation
of Palestinian lands already justifies an attack. It called for the destruction of Israel before the opportunity to do so will be lost, and
claimed that it would be a "defensive jihad" - or the protecting of Islam against aggressors "who want to gain domination over the Muslims
and kill them."
Feb. 7, 2012 - Harvard University Professor Niall Ferguson told Newsweek that Israel must attack Iran now.
Prof. Ferguson maintains that whether he likes it or not, President Barack Obama will come to Israel’s defense if it attacks
Iran in an attempt to slow down its nuclear development, if not destroy its nuclear facilities altogether.
The U.S. already has two U.S. aircraft carriers in the Persian Gulf (CVN 72 Abraham Lincoln and CVN 70 Carl Vinson) and another one
(CVN 77 George H.W. Bush) is on its way.
Feb. 4, 2012 - Confusing and contradictory reports abound about Israel's possible plans to attack Iranian nuclear installations
before it is too late to stop their development of nuclear weapons. U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said that he believes
Israel will most likely strike Iran in a few months. But Ken Pollack, a former White House and CIA official opined that the increasing
dire warnings from Israel's leaders were misleading.
"If Israel has a good military option, they just take it, they don't talk about it, they don't give warnings...So the fact that
they are talking about it, to me, is one tip-off that they don't have a good military option."
Jan. 3, 2012 - On the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran's Supreme Leader, called Israel a
"cancer" and offered assistance to any nation or group that will confront them. He said Iran has helped Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas
in the Palestinian communities.
His remarks were partly a response to news that U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta had said that he feared a possible Israeli strike as
early as April.
Source: NewsMax
Iran warns world of coming great event
- Khamenei believes that the coming of the last Islamic Messiah, the Shiites’ 12th Imam Mahdi, is near. Some of the Revolutionary Guards are called “Soldiers of Imam Mahdi”
- WND
Feb. 2, 2012 - Major General Aviv Kochavi, Israel's Director of Military Intelligence, said that Iran has over four tons of enriched
materials and nearly 100kg of 20% enriched uranium -- enough for four bombs. He added, "We have conclusive evidence that they are after nuclear
weapons."
Feb. 1, 2012 - CIA chief David Petraeus told a Senate committee that he had met with Isral's Mossad chief Tamir Pardo, who said that
Israel considers Iran an existential threat and has growing concerns about their nuclear ambitions.
At the same meeting Director of National Intelligence James Clapper told the Senate panel,
"Iran's technical advancement, particularly in uranium enrichment, strengthens our assessment that Iran has the scientific, technical,
and industrial capacity to eventually produce nuclear weapons... Iran would likely choose missile delivery as its preferred
method of delivering a nuclear weapon."
Jan. 25, 2012 - In Iran four Revolutionary Guard commanders died mysteriously of heart attacks and strokes over the past four days.
The deaths were reported by a website run by an Iranian opposition organization, and the implication is, in the light of
recent assassinations of nuclear scientists, that the men might have been murdered.
Jan. 25, 2012 - Select fighters being described as 'Soldiers of Imam Mahdi'
Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has reportedly called for preparation for a possible war with the United States, and
the need to execute Iranian dissidents. He evidently believes that the Mahdi, the 12th Imam is on earth now, and that he will be revealed
when the world is in chaos. Some believe that the Mahdi facilitated the victory of Hezbollah over Israel in 2006.
Jan. 25, 2012 - The commander of the Israel Defense Forces is planning to retire, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is
advancing the candidacy of his military secretary, Maj Gen Yihanan Locker, a pro-war officer, for the position.
Mr Netanyahu, supported by Ehud Barak, his defence minister, is widely known to lead a camp favouring military action against Iran but
he has run into persistent opposition from senior military and intelligence commanders who question whether unilateral air strikes would
be effective.
Jan. 23, 2012 - Today the European Union intensified pressure on Iran by adopting an oil embargo against them and freezing
the assets of Iran's central bank.
Diplomats said the measures, approved in Brussels by the EU's 27 foreign ministers, include an immediate embargo on new contracts
for crude oil and petroleum products. Existing contracts with Iran will be allowed to run until July.
Jan. 22, 2011 - Through three different channels President Obama sent a letter to Iran's Foreign Ministry saying that that
the U.S. recognizes Iran's right to peaceful nuclear technology. Iranian legislator Hossein Ebrahimi revealed that Obama said he was against
sanctions against Iran's Central Bank, but he could do nothing to avert the motion as it was unanimously passed by US Congress.
The Iranian legislator described such positions as “passive” and noted that the US and the world have come to a “definite conclusion” that
Iran is a “powerful” country that will not surrender to “bullying and hegemony.”
Jan. 20, 2012 - Riad Kahwaji, chief executive officer of the Institute for Near East and Gulf Military Analysis, said that the
Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) forces were superior to Iran’s military. He added that it would be suicidal for Iran to block the Strait of Hormuz.
GCC officials said the alliance was preparing for any Iranian attack,
including one by nuclear weapons.
Jan. 17, 2012 - The recent assassinations of four Iranian nuclear scientists has been in the headlines,
but the revenge killing of Eli Ollaz, an Israeli scientist, was not highly publicized.
Now a previously unknown group, Brigades of Martyr General Hassan Tehrani Moghadam, has claimed credit for the killing of
Ollaz in December in his home in Tel Aviv.
The group took its name from General Moghadam who was considered the father of the Iranian missile program. He was killed last November in the
explosion of the Iranian Alghadir missile base.
Jan. 16, 2012 - Austere Challenge 12, the biggest war games exercise the US and Israel have ever conducted, has been moved
from this spring to the last quarter of the year. The reason given was "budgetary constraints" but observers think the real reason is
disagreemnt between the US and Israel about the escalating tension with Iran.
Nothing was said about the 9,000 US troops who landed in Israeli earlier this month for a lengthy stay. Neither was the forthcoming
visit by Gen. Martin Dempsey, Chairman of the Joint US Chiefs of Staff, Thursday mentioned.
Jan. 14, 2012 - Stephen Hadley, who served as President George W. Bush’s chief foreign policy adviser, warned that
the United States and Iran may end up in a military conflict because of the tensions that are building now.
Referring to Iran’s provocative and bellicose threats about military attacks on U.S. carriers and the Strait of Hormuz,
Hadley said, “I think it is a very high risk that we will have that kind of confrontation."
Jan. 11, 2012 - Another nuclear scientist has been killed by a bomb placed on his car by a motorcyclist in Iran. The mysterious event
took place in the capital city of Tehran. The victim was Mostafa Ahmadi Roshan, 32, "an oil professor at Tehran's technical university
and nuclear scientist."
A city official blamed Israel for the attack, similar to attacks on nuclear scientists just over a year ago.
Jan. 10, 2012 - Dennis Ross, who served two years on Obama’s National Security, said,
Obama has “made it very clear” that he regards a nuclear-armed Iran as so great a threat to international security that “the Iranians
should never think that there’s a reluctance to use the force” to stop them.
A day earlier Defense Secretary Leon Panetta told CBS News’s “Face the Nation” that a decision by Iran to develop nuclear weapon would cross a
red line, precipitating a US strike. In addition, General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the same audience that
he has is planning and positioning assets to be ready if ordered to take military action.
Jan. 8, ,2012 - Iran sends a political signal that it will not agree with pressure to stop enriching uranium. Instead, they will move
their uranium enrichment facility in the "near future" to a location deep inside a mountain.
Iran has said for months that it is preparing to move its highest-grade uranium refinement work to Fordow, a facility near the Shi'ite Muslim
holy city of Qom in central Iran, from its main enrichment plant at Natanz.
Iran still claims that its nuclear program is only for the purpose of generating power and for medical purposes. Western powers believe that
Iran also wants to produce nuclear weapons.
Jan. 5, 2012 - The US is sending troops to Israel to conduct the largest-ever joint missile drill by the two countries, and perhaps
to prepare for the possibility of war with Iran. Last year's UN report on Iran's nuclear program developments and threats from Iran to close
the Strait of Homuz might cause an all-out war to occur sooner than thought.
Without much media attention, thousands of American troops are being deployed to Israel, and Iranian officials believe that this is the
latest and most blatant warning that the US will soon be attacking Tehran.
Pages 141-142
- The Aggressors of the War of Gog and Magog - Ezekiel 38:1-4
According to Ezekiel, an alliance of enemies will attack Israel in the End Times. The leader will be Gog of the
land of Magog, who is the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. He is assisted by Persia, Cush, Put, Gomer, Beth T
ogarmah, and other nations. Most of these names are listed in the genealogies of Genesis 10. Gog is not listed in
Genesis 10, but he is evidently the head of the land of Magog, who is mentioned as a son of Japheth, one of Noah's
sons. It is known that Japheth traveled north from Mt. Ararat after the flood.
Hesoid, a Greek writer of the 7th century BC, and contemporary of Ezekiel, identified Magog with the Scythians and
southern Russia. Flavius Josephus, a 1st century Jewish historian said that Magogians were called "Scythians" by
the Greeks. Philo, a 1st century Greek identified Magog with southern Russia.Commentators from the turn of this
century and before have generally identified Gog and Magog with Russia even though, at the time, they could not
explain why Russia would turn against God's people. They conjectured that perhaps the time would come when there
would be animosity between Russia and Israel. Rosh ("head", "chief") sounds like Russia. Meshech sounds like
Moscow or Mushkovi, the old name for Russia. Tubal sounds like Tobolsk.
- The Target: Israel - Ezekiel 38:2-12
This is the only time in history that this could be said of Israel, that they were brought back from many nations.
It is true that they were brought back from Babylon and Persia in the Old Testament, but it is only since the
Zionist movement, which began in the late 1800's, that Jewish people have returned from nations all over the world.
They had been scattered abroad even in New Testament times. On the Day of Pentecost, for example, the various
languages spoken by the Apostles, when the Holy Spirit came upon them, represented the many lands where they had
settled. But they had not returned to stay. This really never happened until the amazing events that led to the
rebirth of Israel in 1948. What thoughts would come into Russia's mind to make them want to attack Israel? A
consideration of Russia's instability and the plans of some of their leaders for expansion throughout the
Mediterranean area is given below. Israel has always been a key land bridge between Russia's allies and is
presently an enemy of some of those allies. Any number of scenarios in the always-volatile Middle East politics
could lead to a Russian attack in the future.
- Russia's Allies - Ezekiel 38:5-6
Persia is now known as Iran, and there is an amazingly close relationship now between Russia and Iran. Cush is
Ethiopia, Put is Libya, Gomer and Beth Togarmah may well be Turkey and/or other Islamic nations like those once
part of the Soviet Union.
It is interesting that Mizraim, the forefather of Egypt is apparently missing from this lineup. This, of course,
fits the current world scene, with Egypt being the first Arab nation to make peace with Israel.
- Israel's Allies - Ezekiel 38:13
Israel's allies appear to be few and feeble. Some of Saudi Arabia was populated by Sheba and Dedan. The merchants
of Tarshish could be England and English colonies. In that case, The United States could even be included since we
were once an English colony. These allies ask why Russia and its allies are coming, but do not appear to deter them.
- The Outcome - Ezekiel 38:22
The quick end of this future war will be with God's judgment. It could be God's personal power, raining literal
fire and brimstone, as in the days of Sodom, or it could be God using nation against nation, as he often did in
the Old Testament, to precipitate a nuclear exchange.
And with pestilence and with blood I shall enter into judgment with him; and I shall rain on him, and on his
troops, and on the many peoples who are with him, a torrential rain, with hailstones, fire, and brimstone.
- Ezekiel 38:22 (NIV)
The next chapter of Ezekiel continues to give details of this great conflict. Again, it is a scene of utter
destruction.
"And I shall strike your bow from your left hand, and dash down your arrows from your right hand. 4 "You shall
fall on the mountains of Israel, you and all your troops, and the peoples who are with you; I shall give you as
food to every kind of predatory bird and beast of the field. 5 "You will fall on the open field; for it is I who
have spoken," declares the Lord GOD. 6 "And I shall send fire upon Magog and those who inhabit the coastlands in
safety; and they will know that I am the LORD." - Ezekiel 39:3-6 (NIV)
