As President Donald Trump announced “Operation Epic Fury,” a historic joint military operation with Israel conducting precision strikes across Iran and resulting in the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, one phrase stood out for its exceptional clarity.
The President not only encouraged prayer for God’s help and protection, he also pinpointed a spiritual reason why such a large-scale military operation was absolutely necessary.
“We sought repeatedly to make a deal,” Trump stressed, adding that diplomatic efforts proved fruitless because the Iranian regime “just wanted to practice evil.”
The President should be commended for recognizing this reality. There are some ideologies so deluded and entangled with “practicing evil” that their actions can no longer be swayed by reason. The regime in Tehran was a perfect example of this irrational—and demonic—mindset.
Repeated and embarrassing military failures, economic turmoil, mass protests, and the collapse of its terror proxy network should have caused the regime to reverse course—or at least lie low for a season. But these were not rational counterparts at the other end of the negotiating table.
The regime doubled down, laser-focused on funding terrorism, rebuilding their arsenal, and pursuing nuclear weapons to carry out their ambition of destroying Israel and the United States.
As noted by Erick Stakelbeck, host of the Watchman Newscast, “Despite the heavy blows over the past two years, none of these anti-semitic and demonically driven bad actors repented. Since the 12 Day War, Iran has become even more arrogant and boastful, levying constant threats against Israel and America.”
Echoing the words of the President, Stakelbeck underscored that “evil is relentless until it is utterly crushed.”
But how do we know that the Iranian regime and its Supreme Leader were satanically motivated? Through God’s Word, we know that the Devil is the “father of lies” and a “murderer from the beginning” (John 8:44). Demonically driven individuals are often consumed with delusion, working against their own best interests (Mark 5:5, 9:22). Scripture also teaches that Satan has a relentless hatred for the Jews and Bible-believing Christians (Revelation 12, Genesis 3:15, Ephesians 6, etc.). All of these characteristics were unmistakably ingrained in the Ayatollah regime.
A photo of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaking on the phone with President Trump after the commencement of the strikes prominently featured a book on his desk titled “Allies at War: The Politics of Defeating Hitler.” The book was not only a nod to the cooperation between the two allies, but also the brutal ideology they had joined together to fight.
Hitler and Iran’s Supreme Leader had a shared hatred of Jews and Western civilization. This demonic obsession against God’s chosen people is evident. Even as the flames of a defeated Germany burned around him, Hitler’s chief regret was that he was unable to carry out his “final solution” of eradicating the Jews.
The Nazi and Iranian regimes prove Stakelbeck’s assertion, “evil is relentless until it is utterly crushed.”
Despite the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader, with likely the regime in Iran’s dying breath, it remains fixated on its desire to “practice evil,” firing ballistic missiles and UAVs toward the nation of Israel and US Bases across the region.
Please remain in constant prayer for the protection and wisdom of the nation of Israel, as well as for America’s military and leadership, as they continue to carry out “Operation Epic Fury”—or as the Israelis have dubbed it, “Operation Roaring Lion.”
“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8).
