For those of you who watched my Breaking News on Monday, you know that Iran has finally announced that they are nuclear weapons ready. I have been warning about this over and over these past months, but the time has now arrived. Kamal Kharazi, head of Iran’s Strategic Council on Foreign Relations and an aide to Supreme Leader Ali Khamanei, announced Sunday that “we have the technical capabilities to manufacture a nuclear bomb…. We can easily produce 90% enriched uranium.” They have the technology for a bomb and they can easily manufacture weapons-grade uranium. The only thing that’s stopping its creation is their decision to do so.
Both the US and Israel have pledged that Iran will never build that nuclear weapon. During President Biden’s visit to Israel last week (more on that below), he vowed that the US will “use all elements of its national power” to stop Iran from going nuclear. Israel’s army chief Aviv Kohavi was even more straight-forward, saying, “Preparing a military option against the Iranian nuclear program is a moral obligation and a national security order.” The IDF is carrying out this order through its focused preparations and development of attack plans. The fact that he declared it to be an order means that it will be carried out at some point.
Not everyone is against Iran and their aspirations. A trilateral summit was held this week in Tehran with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan joining the president of the host country, Ebrahim Raisi. Together this Ezekiel 38 trio were quite the sight as they smiled and held hands. Actually, everyone smiled except Erdogan, who gazed off to the side looking a bit like he was trying to remember if he had left the curling iron plugged in back at the hotel.
Everyone gained big from the meetings. Iran agreed to purchase all their wheat needs from Russia, now that Turkey appears to be ready to let stolen Ukrainian wheat pass out of the Black Sea. Iran committed to buying gas and oil from Russia. In return, Tehran committed to continuing their sale of weapons-grade UAVs to Moscow. In a press conference US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Mark Milley sternly warned Iran to stop the UAV sales, admonishing them to “not do that”. Iran’s Raisi was heard to respond, “Austin and Milley? Aren’t they that new country duo I heard on iTunes?”
Turkey got the other two countries to reiterate their hatred for the Kurds, a disdain that led to them striking a mountain resort in Zakho, Dohuk Province, Iraq, killing eight Kurdish tourists and wounding 23 more. This situation is heating up as the Iraqi National Security Council has ordered their envoy to Ankara to return home. By this morning, all Arab nations have strongly condemned this attack. This situation will be interesting to watch develop. Erdogan also repeated his threat to block Sweden and Finland joining NATO unless they fulfill their obligations in the “war on terror”, which to him means dealing with Turkish opposition activists in their own countries.
This summit in Tehran has incredible biblical significance. The world has shifted significantly since these three last met. The war in Ukraine has far-reaching significance. There is a search for energy sources other than Russia, since so many nations are punitively abandoning them. This has opened the door for Israel to become “the darling of Europe” with its massive gas fields. In the midst of these monumental shifts, we see these three leaders of collapsing economies – Putin, Erdogan, and Raisi – coming together once again to join their interests. To these countries, Israel will look more and more like the answer to their monetary woes. This is exactly the situation that Scripture spells out! Ezekiel 38 is a war of financial gains and economic interests, and to these nations Israel looks ripe for the picking. We best keep our eyes to the skies; Jesus is coming soon!
One more story breaking this morning to possibly add into the above Ezekiel 38 mix. In a move that smacks of the Iron Curtain days, the Russian Ministry of Justice has asked that the Russian branch of the Jewish Agency for Israel be dissolved. This non-profit organization is the world’s largest agency for assisting Jews emigrating to Israel. This is just another way that Putin seems to be picking a fight with Israel. You can learn all about this on my Breaking News Update from this morning.
In the shadow of the above signing of a billion-dollar oil and gas agreement with Gazprom by Iran, the Russian energy company has announced that it may not be able to meet its commitments due to force majeure or an act of God. Supplies have significantly dropped resulting from Russia’s actions in Ukraine. However, invoking the force majeure clause in this case is reminiscent to intentionally poking yourself in the eye then calling your blindness an act of God.
Israel is also out building deeper relationships. This past week the country approved the outline of an agreement with the US, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt to allow the removal of international peace keeping forces from the two strategic Red Sea islands of Tiran and Sanafir, giving control of the isles to Saudi Arabia. Soon after, Saudi Arabia announced they would open their airspace to all airlines, including Israel. Flights from Tel Aviv to Jeddah have already begun to appear on departure signs in Ben Gurion airport.
US President Joe Biden visited Israel last week. While there, he spent time at Augusta Victoria Hospital in East Jerusalem which caters primarily to the Arab population. Unfortunately, offers by Israeli officials to accompany his visit were rebuffed, an unusual and telling move indicating his administration’s position that the eastern portion of the city does not belong to Israel. While there the president announced $100 million for Palestinian hospitals. The money, however, will be sent through the Palestinian system, which means it will mostly stay in the pockets of the leadership. When he did find time to spend with his host country’s leaders, Biden met with Israeli prime minister du jour Yair Lapid. They talked about Iran’s nuclear aspirations, Saudi Arabia, and how to run a country when nobody likes you.
From Israel, Biden traveled to Saudi Arabia, where he enjoyed a fist bump with the man that he has intimated is guilty of ordering the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. This friendly gesture with Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman led to an absolute meltdown by the liberal media, calling out the president for hypocrisy and a disregard for human rights. I admit that I probably enjoyed it a little too much. In contrast to the pageantry surrounding the previous president’s visit to the Saudi kingdom, this president received no welcome nor farewell at the airport by either the king or the crown prince. However, when President of the United Arab Emirates Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed departed Jeddah after also meeting with President Biden, he was seen off at the airport by MBS.
Hassan Nasrallah, the secretary-general of Hezbollah, continues to challenge Jerusalem in his bid to shift the maritime border between Israel and Lebanon. Now he is demanding that Israel hand over a long-closed railroad tunnel that crosses the border between the two countries. Israel refuses, saying that handing the tunnel over would put at risk of attack the nearby Kibbutz Rosh Hanikra. Most observers, even opponents of Hezbollah in Beirut, see this as just another attempt to complicate the maritime border talks.
It is very possible that this issue will continue to heat up. Nasrallah seems determined to draw Lebanon and Israel into a war over the Karish gas field. Just Monday, the IDF downed another drone after it crossed into Israeli airspace. The previous week, three other Hezbollah drones were shot out of the sky.
Moving to the opposite end of Israel, four rockets were fired from Gaza into Israel late Saturday night. The Iron Dome missile defense system neutralized the threat. In response, Israel’s air force struck a major rocket production site in Gaza.
Finally, a heat wave descended last week over Europe sending temperatures soaring. Record temperatures were seen in many countries, including the British Isles, and more than 1,900 people in Spain and Portugal alone have lost their lives from heat-related causes. Resultant wildfires have forced thousands of people from their homes in France, Portugal, Spain, and Greece.
