Understanding the Iranian Threat, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad & The Twelfth Imam

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SPECULATION GROWING ABOUT POSSIBLE ISRAELI FIRST STRIKE AGAINST IRAN: Netanyahu warns Israeli parliament about Iran nuclear threat, says “a security philosophy cannot rely on defense alone.” (http://flashtrafficblog.wordpress.com/2011/11/01/speculation-growing-about-possible-israeli-first-strike-against-iran-netanyahu-warns-israeli-parliament-about-iran-nuclear-threat-says-a-security-philosophy-cannot-rely-on-defense-alone/)

Posted: November 1, 2011 by joelcrosenberg in Uncategorized (http://flashtrafficblog.wordpress.com/category/uncategorized/)


http://flashtrafficblog.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/netayahu-knesset-oct2011.jpg?w=268&h=170 (http://flashtrafficblog.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/netayahu-knesset-oct2011.jpg)

Israeli PM Netanyahu speaking before the Knesset on Oct. 31, 2011.

>> The Tehran Initiative has hit #9 on the NYT, WSJ, and Publishers Weekly best-seller lists and is now available in hardcover or e-book (http://www.joelrosenberg.com/)

Speculation in Washington and the Middle East continues to grow about a possible Israeli preemptive military strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities. This is in part because Iran is getting closer to building nuclear warheads, in part because of remarks Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu spoke (http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Government/Speeches+by+Israeli+leaders/2011/PM_Netanyahu_opening_Knesset_winter_session_31-Oct-2011.htm) to the Knesset on Monday about the Iran threat, in part because former Vice President Dick Cheney recently speculated about an Israeli first strike (http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/cheney-israel-would-strike-iran-to-prevent-it-from-achieving-nuclear-weapons-1.383972), and in part because the Obama administration is publicly pressuring Israel (http://flashtrafficblog.wordpress.com/2011/10/05/washington-warns-israel-not-to-launch-pre-emptive-strike-against-iran-fact-or-fiction/) not to hit first.

There is a growing possibility of a major Israeli military offensive against Hamas in Gaza, too. More than three dozen rockets and missiles have been fired at southern Israel since Friday from Gaza, and Netanyahu aides say the situation has become intolerable and a “dramatic decision is nearing.”
“If I had to summarize what will happen in our region, I would use two terms: instability and uncertainty,” (http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Government/Speeches+by+Israeli+leaders/2011/PM_Netanyahu_opening_Knesset_winter_session_31-Oct-2011.htm)

Netanyahu told his parliamentary colleagues Monday. “The collapse of Gaddafi’s regime in Libya, the bloody incidents in Syria, the American forces leaving Iraq, the new government in Tunisia, the upcoming elections in Egypt and many other events – these are all expressions of the immense changes occurring around us. These changes can increase the instability within these countries, and the instability between countries….A nuclear Iran would pose a terrible threat on the Middle East and on the entire world.

And of course, it poses a great, direct threat on us too….A security philosophy cannot rely on defense alone. It must also include offensive capabilities, which is the very foundation of deterrence. We operate and will continue to operate intensely and determinately against those who threaten the security of the State of Israel and its citizens. Our policy is guided by two main principles: the first is ‘if someone comes to kill you, rise up and kill him first,’ and the second is ‘if anyone harms us, his blood is on his own hands.’” I’ve never heard Netanyahu discuss those two principles before — they certainly lay the moral and strategic framework for preemptive military action, both against the Hamas terrorists that are firing rockets and missiles at Israel from Gaza, and against state enemies such as Iran.

Such developments echo major plot points in my new political thriller, The Tehran Initiative (http://www.joelrosenberg.com/), but this is not fiction. Could a major new war in the region be coming later this year, or early next? It’s too early to say, but there is little question that senior Israeli officials are now actively weighing such an option, or that the Obama administration is deeply opposed. What would a Republican president do differently that President Obama to neutralize the Iran threat? That remains to be seen as none of the GOP contenders has yet offered a major policy address focused on the Iran issue.

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Iranium The Movie



http://www.iraniumthemovie.com/store/?AFFID=54664



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LiEEn6C4Ca0


Iran's nuclear program presents a threat to international stability. Yet successive American administrations-Republican and Democratic alike-have misread the intentions and actions of the Iranian regime.

How dangerous is a nuclear Iran, even if it never detonates a weapon? What are the guiding principles of the Iranian leadership? To what lengths would the regime go to carry out its agenda? How far have Iran's leaders already gone to fund the world's most powerful terrorist organizations? And why have American leaders failed to gain the upper hand in relations with Iran during the past 30 years?

In approximately 60 minutes, Iranium powerfully reports on the many aspects of the threat America and the world now faces using rarely-before seen footage of Iranian leaders, and interviews with 25 leading politicians, Iranian dissidents, and experts on: Middle East policy, terrorism, and nuclear proliferation.


Iranium documents the development of Iran's nuclear threat, beginning with the Islamic Revolution of 1979 and the ideology installed by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini.
Iranium tracks Iran's use of terror as a tool of policy, beginning with the 444 day seizure of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, through Iran's insurgent actions in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Iranium details the brutal nature of the Iranian regime to its own citizens, and the Iranian people's desire to rejoin the international community.
Iranium outlines the various scenarios the greater Middle East and the Western world may face should Iran cross the nuclear threshold.

In order for Iranium's important message to have maximum impact, we need YOUR help

Click here to find out more about how you can take action. (http://www.iraniumthemovie.com/take-action/)

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tTmwgdoFXI


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czQRTgTZhJ4


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TP9Uqx4EpwY&feature=related


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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56IZyDnv5Lg&feature=related

[admin]

Israel test fires missile that can hit Iran
(AP) – 2 hours ago
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel successfully test-fired on Wednesday a missile capable of carrying a nuclear warhead and striking Iran, fanning a public debate over whether the country's leaders are agitating for a military attack on Tehran's atomic facilities.
While Israeli leaders have long warned that a military strike was an option, the most intensive round of public discourse on the subject was ignited over the weekend by a report in the Yediot Ahronot newspaper that said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Ehud Barak favor an attack.
That was followed by a report in the Haaretz daily Wednesday that Netanyahu is now lobbying Cabinet members for an attack, despite the complexity of the operation and the high likelihood it would draw a deadly retaliation from Iran. An Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was discussing a sensitive policy discussion, said Netanyahu does not yet have a majority.
An Israeli defense official told The Associated Press that the military tested a "rocket propulsion system" in an exercise planned long ago. He spoke on condition of anonymity because of security restrictions, and declined to give further information.
Further information about the test was censored by the military. Foreign reports, however, said the military test-fired a long-range Jericho missile — capable of carrying a nuclear warhead and striking Iran.
Israel considers Iran its most dangerous threat. It cites Tehran's nuclear program, its ballistic missile development, repeated references by the Iranian leader to Israel's destruction and Iran's support for anti-Israel militant groups Hamas and Hezbollah.
Iran denies the allegations that it aims to produce a bomb, saying its nuclear program is meant only to produce energy for the oil-rich country. It has blamed Israel for disruptions in its nuclear program, including the mysterious assassinations of a string of Iranian nuclear scientists and a computer virus that wiped out some of Iran's nuclear centrifuges.
Israel has repeatedly said that it hopes economic sanctions will persuade Iran to halt its nuclear program. Israeli diplomats have been lobbying the international community for tougher sanctions.
Copyright © 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

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US-NATO-Israel War Plans directed against Iran: Selected Articles

by Michel Chossudovsky

http://www.globalresearch.ca/coverStoryPictures2/27471.jpg Global Research (http://www.globalresearch.ca/), November 4, 2011



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[Scroll down for Selected Articles]

We bring to the attention of our readers a selection of recent news as well background feature articles on US-NATO-Israel war plans directed against Iran.
In recent developments, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has sought cabinet support for a military strike against Iran

Meanwhile, the British government has also signified that were Washington "to fast-forward plans for targeted missile strikes" against the Islamic Republic, Her Majesty's government would support the Obama administration's resolve for a pre-emptive attack on Iran.

A War on Iran has been on the drawing board of The Pentagon since 2004.
Iran's alleged nuclear weapons programme is the pretext and the justification. Tehran is also identified as a "State sponsor of terrorism", for allegedly supporting the Al Qaeda network.
In recent development, what is unfolding is an integrated attack plan on Iran led by the US, with the participation of the United Kingdom and Israel.

Humanity is at a dangerous crossroads

Central to an understanding of war, is the media campaign which grants it legitimacy in the eyes of public opinion. A good versus evil dichotomy prevails. The perpetrators of war are presented as the victims. Public opinion is misled:

”Breaking the "big lie" which upholds war as a humanitarian undertaking, means breaking a criminal project of global destruction, in which the quest for profit is the overriding force.
This selection of articles portrays a diabolical and far-reaching military agenda, which in the real sense of the word, threatens the future of humanity.

We call upon Global Research readers to spread the word far and wide.

What is required is the development of a broad and well organized grassroots antiwar network, across the land, nationally and internationally, which challenges the structures of power and authority.

War and Globalization are intimately related.

America's War's of Economic Conquest seek to recolonize countries through military action, confiscate their assets, take over their oil reserves ...
Meanwhile, another form of warfare is unfolding: The Free Market system and its neoliberal policy are conducive to the destabilization of entire national economies. "Economic Warfare" led by creditor banks, institutional speculators, hedge funds and international financial institutions is conducive to spearheading entire national economies into bankruptcy.

While the Western elites' political handlers impose draconian austerity measures in the name of democracy, the Pentagon, the Atlantic Alliance, the Western intelligence apparatus and Israel's high command are meeting behind closed doors: War preparations directed against Syria and Iran are in an advanced state of readiness.

There are at present four distinct war theaters: Afghanistan-Pakistan, Iraq, Palestine and Libya.
Were a US-NATO-Israel military operation to be launched against either Syria or Iran, the broader Middle East Central Asian region extending from North Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean to the Afghanistan-Pakistan border with China would be engulfed in the turmoil of an extended regional war.
Forward this selection of articles. Share it on Facebook and Twitter.

Forcefully announce your antiwar stance before rather than in the wake of the attack...

This war can be prevented if people confront their governments, pressure their elected representatives, organize at the local level in towns, villages and municipalities, spread the word, inform their fellow citizens as to the implications of a nuclear war, initiate debate and discussion within the armed forces.

The objective is to forcefully reverse the tide of war, challenge the war criminals in high office and the powerful corporate lobby groups which support them.


Michel Chossudovsky, Global Research, November 4, 2011


http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=CHO20111104&articleId=27471

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Monday, November 7, 2011

First Strike (http://www.bibleprophecyblog.com/2011/11/first-strike.html)

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_mmyoHPEE4Yc/TZn4YQxeGFI/AAAAAAAAIA0/8LNwUWhFr_4/s800/jf.jpgBy Jim Fletcher
Prophecy Matters (http://prophecymatters.com/)

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_mmyoHPEE4Yc/TY4v4EdKV3I/AAAAAAAAH2I/7DJeqtOC-4Q/s800/blog-16.png (http://www.prophecymatters.com/index.php?format=feed&type=atom) https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_mmyoHPEE4Yc/TY6I1Tugk6I/AAAAAAAAH2s/HgMDFZNJSM8/s800/email_feed-icon16x16_green.png (jim@prophecymatters.com) https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/_mmyoHPEE4Yc/TZEPdBcNxAI/AAAAAAAAH5I/h6etkBBDjus/s800/amazon-icon16x16.gif (http://www.amazon.com/dp/1599794721?tag=giftofhope-20&link_code=as3&creative=373489&camp=211189)



"Jerusalem will never return to the state it was in on the eve of the (1967) Six-Day War, that I promise you."Those words this week from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu let the world know that the Jewish state will not be intimidated by Iran, or anyone else.

The Israelis even test-fired their own missile this week, one capable of reaching Iran. And now the Americans are engaged, checking on the possibility that Israel will consider a first-strike on the Iranians.

Whatever they do, it will be creative. And Iran will go the way of other threats from the past. This of course speaks to one of my favorite subjects, the absolute authority of Scripture.

It’s too bad that apologetics groups, mega-churches and various other ministries don’t emphasize the astonishing implications of this.

For example, Isaiah 54 tells us that the Lord will not permit any weapons developed against Israel to be successful. Let’s take this to its logical conclusion.

If young people could see that this proves the existence and absolute sovereignty of the God of the Bible, perhaps they wouldn’t feel so hopeless and despairing. In other words, if God has promised to preserve the Jewish people, and has done it in spectacular fashion, shouldn’t we have confidence in the rest of the Bible?

But of course, that’s not the message preached today by Brian McLaren, Fuller Theological Seminary, or the young Emergent pastors.

For its part, Iran continues to be belligerent, setting the country’s leadership up for a titanic fall. In October, the Iranian daily newspaper Jam-e-Jam claimed that a letter from EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton was evidence that the West’s efforts to contain Iran through sanctions have failed.

When Iran’s Ahmadinejad said recently at the UN General Assembly gathering that his country might be willing to suspend its enrichment of uranium to low levels - in exchange for nuclear fuel from other countries - he barely concealed the mocking contempt he has for the West.

Blackmailing the West to provide nuclear fuel would enable the Iranians to continue to covertly produce enriched uranium.

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LvuVn_10Hdw/Trg2o3zZVKI/AAAAAAAAJnw/XXZtPKYvIaw/s200/Anders-Fogh-Rasmussen-in--007.jpg (http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LvuVn_10Hdw/Trg2o3zZVKI/AAAAAAAAJnw/XXZtPKYvIaw/s1600/Anders-Fogh-Rasmussen-in--007.jpg)There is also an instructive lesson for us in the story of Syria, as well. Western diplomats and politicians have made it crystal clear that they have no intention of intervening in Syria as they did in Libya. While Assad continues to slaughter his own people (3,000 by some counts), he has threatened to retaliate if efforts are made to stop his regime. If NATO brought down Quaddafi, they will not bring down the House of Assad.

The Iranians see this and know that the West will not help Israel stop their efforts at genocide.

That’s why it will be up to Israel and her God to stop the Iranians, and I have no doubt at all that they will.

Israel’s defense minister Ehud Barak is signaling to the international community that Iran is really a global threat - and the terror-state surely is - but even that won’t be an easy sell. It is human nature to sell-out a neighbor if it postpones your own demise. It’s the same with geopolitics, and particularly when the Jews can be put on the bargaining table.

There are no Churchills in our world today.

As Israel was test-firing its own missile last week - thought to be similar to the Jericho 3, and capable of reaching 4,000 kilometers - Italy proved that there is still some sanity left in Europe.

The Italians held joint maneuvers with the Israelis, as reported by the Jerusalem Post:

“That same day, the Israel Air Force announced that it had returned from a week of joint maneuvers with Italy over Sardinia that included long-range flights, midair refueling and complicated bombing runs. On Thursday, the Home Front Command held a large-scale civil defense exercise aimed at preparing the public for missile attacks in the center of the country.”Good for the Italians!

Whatever happens in the coming months, we can be sure that it is Iran that is in real jeopardy, not Israel.

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Some intelligence in IAEA report came from Israel

By YAAKOV KATZ AND REUTERS
11/08/2011 15:40

Israel, United States and Europe contributed intelligence to upcoming report, 'Post' learns; Jerusalem seeks sanctions against Iran's central bank; report may include Iranian computer modeling of nuclear weapon.

Talkbacks (1)

Israeli intelligence agencies played a role in helping the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) gather information that is expected to be released later this week and will accuse Iran of developing a nuclear weapon, The Jerusalem Post has learned.

In addition to Israel, intelligence agencies from the United States and Europe were also instrumental in helping the IAEA compile the report.

RELATED:
Barak not optimistic about int'l will to stop Iranian nukes (http://www.jpost.com/Defense/Article.aspx?id=244786)
Israel hoping IAEA report will spur West into action (http://www.jpost.com/IranianThreat/News/Article.aspx?id=244762)

Israel is expecting the United States to take the lead in pushing the United Nations and other Western countries to impose tougher, new sanctions on Iran following the publication of the incriminating IAEA report.

http://ad.doubleclick.net/N6943/ad/300x250_ROS/300x250_IranianThreat;sz=300x250;ord=[timestamp]? (http://ad.doubleclick.net/N6943/jump/300x250_ROS/300x250_IranianThreat;sz=300x250;ord=[timestamp]?)
Israel is seeking sanctions against the Central Bank of Iran, which has yet to be directly affected by earlier rounds of sanctions. Sanctions imposed on the CBI would, for example, make it difficult for Iran to bankroll its nuclear program and buy components it requires to build new advanced centrifuges.

The UN nuclear watchdog report is expected to show recent activity in Iran that could help in developing nuclear bombs, including intelligence about computer modeling of such weapons, Western diplomats said on Tuesday.

"There are bits and pieces of information that go up through 2010," one Vienna-based diplomat said.

If confirmed in this week's keenly awaited document by the International Atomic Energy Agency, it could stimulate new debate about a controversial US intelligence assessment in 2007 that Iran had halted outright "weaponization" work in 2003.

It would heighten Western suspicions that Iran is resolved to pursue at least some of the research and development (R&D) applicable to atom bombs, even if Tehran has made no apparent decision to actually build them, as diplomats believe .

"There is still evidence there where I think the agency will be in a position to say that they have serious concerns coming up to the present day," said another envoy in the Austrian capital, where the IAEA is based.

But Western officials and experts suggested that research and experiments pointing to military nuclear aims may not have continued on the same scale as before 2003, when Iran started coming under increased Western pressure over its nuclear work.

"Iran is understood to have continued or restarted some R&D activities since then," said nuclear proliferation analyst Peter Crail of the US-based Arms Control Association, a research and advocacy group.

Iran denies accusations it is seeking nuclear arms, saying they are based on forged documents. It says its uranium enrichment program is aimed at generating electricity so that it can export more of its abundant oil.

Many conservative experts criticized the 2007 findings as inaccurate and naive, and US intelligence agencies now believe Iranian leaders have resumed closed-door debates over the last four years about whether to build a nuclear bomb.

"I suspect that the new IAEA report will play into the hands of US conservative and Israeli critics of the 2007 NIE (National Intelligence Estimate), who had accused the US intelligence community of playing down evidence of clandestine nuclear weapons activities in Iran," said Shannon Kile of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute think tank.

Modeling a Nuclear Weapon

The IAEA report, due to be submitted to member states in the next few days, is expected to provide new evidence of explosives and physics research suggesting Iran is seeking the capability to design nuclear weapons.

Some of the activities have little application other than atomic bomb-making, including computer modeling of a nuclear weapon, sources familiar with the document said.

They said it would support intelligence reports that Iran built a large steel container at the Parchin military complex southeast of Tehran for the purpose of carrying out tests with high explosives usable for a nuclear chain reaction.

"It is a forensic body of evidence that shows some serious scientific intent," one of the Western diplomats said.

In February, US Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said Iran was "keeping open the option to develop nuclear weapons in part by developing various nuclear capabilities that better position it to produce such weapons."

Crail said Clapper's statements were not "inconsistent with the notion that some weapons-related R&D has resumed which is not part of a determined, integrated weapons-development program of the type that Iran maintained prior to 2003."

Mark Fitzpatrick, a director of the International Institute for Strategic Studies, said it was too early to say whether the IAEA report will cast doubt on the 2007 NIE assessment.

"The US intelligence community already has the information in the IAEA report," Fitzpatrick said, adding that Clapper as recently as March confirmed the belief that Iran had not made a decision to restart its nuclear weapons program.

"The apparent disconnect between that statement and the leaks that have come out about the IAEA report probably pertain to the time frame of the weapons research and development and the level and scale of the activity that the IAEA apparently believes continued after 2003," he said.

http://www.jpost.com/IranianThreat/News/Article.aspx?id=244812

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Israel hoping IAEA report will spur West into action

By YAAKOV KATZ AND TOVAH LAZAROFF
11/08/2011 05:18

Information expected to be published in report on Iranian nuclear program believed to have come from US, UK intelligence agencies; US Treasury official coming to region to discuss sanctions against Tehran.

Talkbacks (100)

Israel is expecting the United States to take the lead in pushing the United Nations and other Western countries to impose tougher, new sanctions on Iran following the publication of an incriminating International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report later this week.

The report is tentatively scheduled to be published on Tuesday or Wednesday. Some of the sensitive information expected to be revealed in the IAEA report is believed to have come from intelligence agencies in the US and the United Kingdom.

RELATED:
Germany: Public debate about strike on Iran dangerous (http://www.jpost.com/International/Article.aspx?id=244724)

On Monday, The Washington Post revealed that Russian scientists have been assisting Iran in designing and developing a nuclear weapon. Israel has consistently claimed over the years that Iran’s work on a nuclear weapon never stopped.

Russian assistance to Iran’s nuclear program has always been a contentious issue between Jerusalem and Moscow, and Israeli officials said Monday they were not surprised by the reports.

“Russia has always played this role and there is very little that we, a small country called Israel, could have done to stop it,” one official said.

The Washington Post cited Western diplomats and nuclear experts who claimed Russian scientists had taught the Iranians to construct the kind of “high-precision detonators” that can be used to “trigger a nuclear chain reaction.”

The report is also expected to provide satellite footage of the Parchin facility, where Iran is believed to have built large steel containers to test high explosives that can be used in nuclear weapons.

The Prime Minister’s Office refused to officially comment on media reports regarding the contents of the IAEA document, saying it would first need to receive the report and then have it reviewed by a team of experts.

http://www.jpost.com/HttpHandlers/ShowImage.ashx?ID=154623 (http://www.jpost.com/IranianThreat/Home.aspx)

David S. Cohen, the US Treasury Department’s under-secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, is due to arrive in the region later this month for talks in Israel and several key Gulf States about ways to increase sanctions against Iran.

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Cohen has been working to get European countries to back a series of sanctions against the Central Bank of Iran, which has yet to be directly affected by earlier rounds of sanctions.

An Israeli official said that for quite some time, Israel has called for “beefed up” international pressure on Iran.

“We hope this report will serve to galvanize the international community against Iran’s nuclear program and in support of increased sanctions,” the official said.

A second Israeli official noted that it was Western powers such as the US, France, Germany and the UK – and not Israel – that must take the lead in the drive for increased sanctions.

“We expect the countries that are involved to draw the necessary conclusions and to try to reach a decision on harsher and more efficient sanctions on Iran,” the official said.

“We expect Russia and China to chip in and not to sideline themselves from this international effort.”

On Monday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned that military action against Iran would be a grave mistake with repercussions.

“This would be a very serious mistake fraught with unpredictable consequences,” Lavrov said.

He said there could be no military resolution to the Iranian nuclear problem, and said the conflicts in Iran’s neighbors, Iraq and Afghanistan, had led to human suffering and high numbers of casualties.

Reuters contributed to this report.

http://www.jpost.com/IranianThreat/News/Article.aspx?id=244762

[admin]

Monday, November 14, 2011

Leaping Closer to the Damascus Prophecy (http://www.bibleprophecyblog.com/2011/11/leaping-closer-to-damascus-prophecy.html)

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-NGWyGSK7GVg/TfpeCxiJRkI/AAAAAAAAIs8/1BWUym6Heuw/s800/bw.jpgBy Bill Wilson
Word of Life Ministry (http://www.dailyjot.com/dailyjot/Home.html)

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/_mmyoHPEE4Yc/TY6I1Tugk6I/AAAAAAAAH2s/HgMDFZNJSM8/s800/email_feed-icon16x16_green.png (bill@dailyjot.com)

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that the United Nations report on Iran's nuclear program only documents what can be proven, but in reality the terrorist sponsoring nation is far closer to having a nuclear bomb than the report confirms. Reuters reports that Netanyahu said,

"Iran is closer to getting an (atomic) bomb than is thought. Only things that could be proven were written (in the report), but in reality there are many other things that we see." The UN report has went further than any other in the past decade to confirm that Iran is indeed weaponizing its nuclear program. These are facts that the US and Israel have known for years, but have only been revealed by the UN since a change in leadership.

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4NR9IIZpsoo/TsE78QM7ekI/AAAAAAAAJr8/3y1G3xM_vyA/s200/amano020709_300x200_240.jpg (http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4NR9IIZpsoo/TsE78QM7ekI/AAAAAAAAJr8/3y1G3xM_vyA/s1600/amano020709_300x200_240.jpg)In 2009, Japan's Yukiya Amano was elected to serve as the head of the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency. He replaced Islamist Mohamed El Baradei, who was considered soft on Iran's nuclear development, often emphatically denying that Iran was developing a weapons system, despite intelligence contrary to his position. Amano won the IAEA position over another Islamist, Abdul Samad Minty from South Africa. Minty was positioned to challenge the US and other nuclear powers to disarm. Minty was supported by Arab states. The Jerusalem Post reported in July 2009 that Israel was relieved that Minty did not win the position.

The Post said that Israeli officials thought Minty's relationship with Iran was too cozy. South Africa, where Minty is from, supported Iran because of historical and business relationships, which included Iran providing cheap oil. Under Minty's guidance, South Africa abstained from confirming the 2006 IAEA report on Iran, siding with Islamic nations and Iran by withholding its vote. MSNBC reported in March 2009 that "Support for Amano from the US, Canada, the European Union and others was to an extent less because he was the ideal candidate and more 'because of fears that Minty would become a second El Baradei.'"

It is no coincidence that the recent report on Iranian nukes by the UN's nuclear watchdog had more of the truth in it than El Baradei would have allowed. But according to the Israeli Prime Minister, it still doesn't disclose all that Israeli intelligence knows.

An Israeli strike on Iran's nuclear facilities could have Biblical impact. On one hand, it could devastate Iran's nuclear intentions. On the other hand it could invite counter strikes from Iran or Iran's vassal state, Syria, just North of Israel. A very important end time prophecy is found in Isaiah 17:1 (http://biblia.com/bible/nasb95/Isaiah%2017.1), which says,
"Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap." Given the state of circumstances, the world is far closer to this prophetic fulfillment than it was before the UN report on Iran.

[admin]

NEW U.N. REPORT ERASES ALL DOUBTS: IRAN IS DEVELOPING NUCLEAR WARHEADS AND THE MISSILES TO DELIVER THEM (http://flashtrafficblog.wordpress.com/2011/11/14/new-u-n-report-erases-all-doubts-iran-is-developing-nuclear-warheads-and-the-missiles-to-deliver-them/)

Posted: November 14, 2011 by joelcrosenberg in Uncategorized (http://flashtrafficblog.wordpress.com/category/uncategorized/)


>> UPDATE: The Tehran Initiative just hit the New York Times best-seller list for the third week in a row (http://www.joelrosenberg.com/)


The IAEA has released a 25-page report (http://graphics8.nytimes.com/packages/pdf/world/2011/IAEA-Nov-2011-Report-Iran.pdf) on Iran’s nuclear activities. After just returning from a week-long trip out of the country, I’ve finally had the opportunity to read the entire report. While its language is diplomatic and often highly-technical, the report erases all doubts that Iran is pursuing nuclear weapons.


The U.N. report concludes there is “credible” evidence that:


Iran is systematically enriching nuclear fuel towards military applications.
Iran — since the late-1970s — has been building clandestine nuclear facilities to evade international detection.
Iran’s nuclear program no longer run by civilians but by the Ministry of Defense.
Iran is steadily developing nuclear warheads.
Iran is developing long-range ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear warheads against her enemies.
Iran has made preparations to test its first nuclear bomb.
Iran did not cease developing military applications for its nuclear program in 2003, as the CIA reported in its controversial National Intelligence Estimate in 2007 (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/i/us_intelligence_community/national_intelligence_estimates/index.html?inline=nyt-classifier), but rather accelerated its efforts to develop the Bomb.

The New York Times editorial page concluded (http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/10/opinion/the-truth-about-iran.html) that “the report is chillingly comprehensive. It says that Iran created computer models of nuclear explosions, conducted experiments on nuclear triggers and did advanced research on a warhead that could be delivered by a medium-range missile. What gives the report particular credibility is its meticulous sourcing. The agency’s director, Yukiya Amano, built a case on more than a thousand pages of documents, the assistance of more than 10 agency member states and interviews with ‘a number of individuals who were involved in relevant activities in Iran.’”


A separate news story (http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/09/world/un-details-case-that-iran-is-at-work-on-nuclear-device.html?ref=opinion) by the New York Times noted, “The I.A.E.A. report’s detailed revelations are a fascinating role reversal from 2003, when the United States and Britain claimed Iraq was seeking to rekindle its nuclear program. In that case, the agency warned that the Bush administration’s case was weak and that some of the evidence was forged. Now, it is the normally cautious agency that is taking the lead, arguing that years of study had led it to the conclusion that, despite Iran’s denials, the country engaged in an active program to design nuclear warheads, among other technologies.”


The question now is what steps will the U.S., Israel and the international community take to neutralize the Iran nuclear threat before it’s too late. The Obama administration does not appear to be considering a decisive new policy, but some of the GOP candidates are. I’ll analyze this tomorrow. In the meantime, please pray for wisdom for U.S. and Israeli leaders. Please pray that some approach short of war can be taken to stop Iran.


(http://www.joshuafund.net/)
Please also pray for — and consider financially supporting — The Joshua Fund as we continue to care for poor and needy Israelis and Palestinians and stockpile supplies ahead of the next war. (http://www.joshuafund.net/)
Here are some the IAEA report’s key findings: (http://graphics8.nytimes.com/packages/pdf/world/2011/IAEA-Nov-2011-Report-Iran.pdf)


“Contrary to the relevant resolutions of the Board of Governors and the Security Council, Iran has not suspended its [uranium] enrichment related activities in the following declared facilities, all of which are nevertheless under Agency safeguards.” (main text, p. 3)





“The Agency is still awaiting a substantive response from Iran to Agency requests for further information in relation to announcements made by Iran concerning the construction of ten new uranium enrichment facilities, the sites for five of which, according to Iran, have been decided, and the construction of one of which was to have begun by the end of the last Iranian year (20 March 2011) or the start of this Iranian year. In August 2011, Dr Abbasi was reported as having said that Iran did not need to build new enrichment facilities during the next two years….As a result of Iran’s lack of cooperation on those issues, the Agency is unable to verify and report fully on these matters.” (p. 5)





“The information indicates that Iran has carried out the following activities that are relevant to the development of a nuclear explosive device…Efforts, some successful, to procure nuclear related and dual use equipment and materials by military related individuals and entities;….The acquisition of nuclear weapons development information and documentation from a clandestine nuclear supply network; Work on the development of an indigenous design of a nuclear weapon including the testing of components. While some of the activities identified in the Annex have civilian as well as military applications, others are specific to nuclear weapons.







“The Agency has serious concerns regarding possible military dimensions to Iran’s nuclear programme. After assessing carefully and critically the extensive information available to it, the Agency finds the information to be, overall, credible. The information indicates that Iran has carried out activities relevant to the development of a nuclear explosive device. The information also indicates that prior to the end of 2003, these activities took place under a structured programme, and that some activities may still be ongoing.” (p. 10)



“Specifically, it was discovered that, as early as the late 1970s and early 1980s, and continuing into the 1990s and 2000s, Iran had used undeclared nuclear material for testing and experimentation in several uranium conversion, enrichment, fabrication and irradiation activities, including the separation of plutonium, at undeclared locations and facilities.” (Annex: Possible Military Dimensions To Iran’s Nuclear Programme, p. 1)



“The development of safe, fast-acting detonators, and equipment suitable for firing the detonators, is an integral part of a programme to develop an implosion type nuclear device. Included among the alleged studies documentation are a number of documents relating to the development by Iran, during the period 2002–2003, of fast functioning detonators, known as “exploding bridgewire detonators” or “EBWs” as safe alternatives to the type of detonator described for use in the nuclear device design.” (Annex, p. http://s0.wp.com/wp-includes/images/smilies/icon_cool.gif?m=1305504302g



“The Agency has information provided by a Member State that Iran may have planned and undertaken preparatory experimentation which would be useful were Iran to carry out a test of a nuclear explosive device. In particular, the Agency has information that Iran has conducted a number of practical tests to see whether its EBW firing equipment would function satisfactorily over long distances between a firing point and a test device located down a deep shaft. Additionally, among the alleged studies documentation provided by that Member State, is a document, in Farsi, which relates directly to the logistics and safety arrangements that would be necessary for conducting a nuclear test. The Agency has been informed by a different Member State that these arrangements directly reflect those which have been used in nuclear tests conducted by nuclear-weapon States.” (Annex, p. 11)



“The alleged studies documentation contains extensive information regarding work which is alleged to have been conducted by Iran during the period 2002 to 2003 under what was known as Project 111. From that information, the project appears to have consisted of a structured and comprehensive programme of engineering studies to examine how to integrate a new spherical payload into the existing payload chamber which would be mounted in the re-entry vehicle of the Shahab 3 missile….Iran has denied conducting the engineering studies, claiming that the documentation which the Agency has is in electronic format and so could have been manipulated, and that it would have been easy to fabricate. However, the quantity of the documentation, and the scope and contents of the work covered in the documentation, are sufficiently comprehensive and complex that, in the Agency’s view, it is not likely to have been the result of forgery or fabrication. While the activities described as those of Project 111 may be relevant to the development of a non-nuclear payload, they are highly relevant to a nuclear weapon programme.” (Annex, p. 11-12)

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Iran says 150,000 missiles pointed at Israel

By JPOST.COM STAFF
11/27/2011 23:39

"How many missiles have they prepared themselves for?" Iranian defense minister asks.

Talkbacks (100)
Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Ahmad Vahidi said that Iran has up to 150,000 missiles pointed at Israel, according to the semi-official Iranian FARS news agency.

According to the report, Vahidi questioned threats against the Islamic Republic from the Jewish State, asking "How many missiles have they prepared themselves for? 10,000? 20,000? 50,000? 100,000, 150,000 or more?"

RELATED:
Report: Iran adds 3 more submarines to fleet (http://www.jpost.com/IranianThreat/News/Article.aspx?id=247037)
US Treasury to brief UAE, Israel on Iran pressure (http://www.jpost.com/IranianThreat/News/Article.aspx?id=247006)

The Iranian defense minister also warned against an offensive by the United States, saying it would meet a hard defensive line were it to attack Iran.

"The US and its allies should know that Iran is so powerful that its battling will teach the US how to fight and what war and warrior mean," Vahidi told a crowd of 50,000 volunteer soldiers in Bushehr, a city where one of the country's nuclear power plants is located.

Iran claims the country's nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, but an incriminating International Atomic Energy Agency report said that Tehran has continued to covertly develop nuclear-weapons technology.

Since the release of that report, Western nations have called for international pressure on the regime in Tehran to halt their nuclear program.

The United States, the United Kingdom and Canada cast stringent sanctions on Iran's energy and financial sectors, a move which pushed Iran to expel the British ambassador.

France and the Netherlands have called for similar action against the Islamic Republic.

On Saturday, Tehran made a rare threat against Turkey (http://www.jpost.com/IranianThreat/News/Article.aspx?id=247062), saying it could target the recently installed NATO anti-missile shield in any future conflict.

"We are ready to attack NATO's missile shield in Turkey if we face a threat and then we will follow other aims," the semi-official Mehr news agency quoted Amir Ali Hajizadeh, head of the Revolutionary Guards' aerospace division, as saying.

Reuters contributed to this report.


http://www.jpost.com/IranianThreat/News/Article.aspx?id=247196


'Iran adds 3 more submarines to naval fleet'

By JPOST.COM STAFF AND YAAKOV LAPPIN
11/26/2011 15:19

Iranian Army Navy Commander Sayyari says Ghadir-class submarines designed, manufactured by Islamic Republic's experts.

Talkbacks (67)

Iranian Army Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari said Saturday that the Islamic Republic has added three more Ghadir-class submarines to its naval fleet, Iran's FARS News Agency reported.

"All parts of these submarines, including their body and their advanced radar equipment and defense systems have been designed and manufactured by our country's defense experts and with the help of the Defense Ministry," he said in a press conference.

RELATED:
'Tehran will retaliate against Israeli strike' (http://www.jpost.com/IranianThreat/News/Article.aspx?id=247035)
'Iran has no oil export to France to be sanctioned' (http://www.jpost.com/IranianThreat/News/Article.aspx?id=246984)

According to the report, Iranian commanders have said that Ghadir-class submarines "boosted the Navy's capability in defending the country's territorial waters."

http://www.jpost.com/HttpHandlers/ShowImage.ashx?ID=154623 (http://www.jpost.com/IranianThreat/Home.aspx)

On Tuesday, a preeminent Israeli missile expert told The Jerusalem Post Iran could be getting outside help (http://www.jpost.com/Defense/Article.aspx?id=246628) in developing its own missile defense system.

Uzi Rubin, an architect of Israel’s missile defense program, was responding to Iranian reports boasting of a new domestic missile defense system named “Bavar 373,” which Tehran claimed was “a substitution for S-300 (Russian) missile system.”

The S-300 was an aerial defense platform that was denied to the Islamic Republic by Moscow in 2010, despite an earlier agreement to purchase it. It was supposed to defend Iranian nuclear sites against foreign missiles and fighter jet attacks.



http://www.jpost.com/IranianThreat/News/Article.aspx?id=247196

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Russian investors’ expertise in Iranian oilfield

Get short URL (http://rt.com/business/news/investment-russia-iran-crude-oil-153/)
email story to a friend (http://rt.com/emailstory/?doc_id=80153&type_doc=1&referer=http%3A%2F%2Frt.com%2Fbusiness%2Fnews%2Fin vestment-russia-iran-crude-oil-153%2F) print version (http://rt.com/business/news/investment-russia-iran-crude-oil-153/print/)


Published: 19 December, 2011, 18:04


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Russian company may develop the Zagheh oil field in Southern Iran

TAGS: Oil (http://rt.com/tags/oil/), Russia and the global economy (http://rt.com/tags/russia-and-the-global-economy/), Resources (http://rt.com/tags/resources/), Infrastructure (http://rt.com/tags/infrastructure/), Construction (http://rt.com/tags/construction/)

Russian and Iranian companies have signed a $1bn deal to develop the Zagheh oil field in Southern Iran. The deal between Taftneft and a division of the National Iranian Oil Company will provide expertise to expand output from the heavy oil field.
The Zagheh field has estimated reserves of about three billion barrels of crude. Oil extraction is planned to increase by seven thousand barrels a day in the first phase, rising to an extra 55 thousand barrels a day in five years time.


Vadim Mitroshin analyst from Otkritie says there are two reasons why the Russian company has chosen now to conclude the agreement, “Firstly, Western countries are talking about the possibility of banning imports from Iran and several big foreign companies have already left Iran. Secondly, Tatneft has been developing heavy oil processing technologies, because crude heavy oil cannot be used without due processing”, says the analyst.


According to RIA-Novosti the Islamic republic also plans to build a refinery to process super-heavy oil into light which will let them manufacture a wider variety of oil products, such as petrol.


Vadim Mitroshin points out that it’s early to speculate on the prospects, but if Western countries don’t push on the region too hard and the project succeeds, it will broaden Russia-Iran relations from atomic to oil. Russia will get a high return on its investment and useful experience.“But it is still a matter of a long-term outlook”, says the analyst.

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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-12-18/iran-and-russia-s-tatneft-sign-1-billion-accord-to-restart-oil-field.html


Iran, Russia’s Tatneft Sign $1 Billion Accord to Develop Zagheh Oil Field


By Ladane Nasseri - Dec 18, 2011 10:47 AM ET



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Russia (http://topics.bloomberg.com/russia/)’s OAO Tatneft (TATN) (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/quote?ticker=TATN:RU) signed an accord valued at $1 billion with Iran to develop the Zagheh oil field in the Persian Gulf nation, where many energy projects face delays due to intensified sanctions by Western countries.
A preliminary deal was signed in Tehran earlier today between Tatneft, which is based in Russia’s Tatarstan region, and Iran’s Petroleum and Engineering Development Co., (http://pedec.ir/) the Iranian Oil Ministry said on its news website Shana (http://www.shana.ir/181632-fa.html) today.
Russia, which has opposed the latest financial and energy sanctions on Iran, is helping restart the dormant Zagheh field and seeking more local ventures as western companies curb their investment in Iran, the second-largest oil producer in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries after Saudi Arabia (http://topics.bloomberg.com/saudi-arabia/). Western countries have been increasing pressure on Iran over its controversial nuclear program.
“If Iran is keen, Tatarstan is ready to increase cooperation in the oil and gas sectors,” Tatneft Chairman and Tatarstan President Rustam Minnikhanov said (http://www.shana.ir/181674-fa.html) in the Shana report. “The scope and diversity of Iran’s gas and petrochemical projects is unbelievable.”
The agreement will be finalized by the end of the Iranian calendar year on March 19, and Iran wants further collaboration with Tatarstan, Iranian Oil Minister Rostam Qasemi said, according to Shana.
Production Volume

“This firm is one of the world’s reputable companies when it comes to extraction of heavy crude oil, and so we wanted to use its experience and technology,” Qasemi was quoted as saying by the state-run Mehr news agency.
Tatneft’s biggest shareholder is the government of Tatarstan, an oil-rich and majority-Muslim autonomous region east of Moscow. The company’s shares are little changed in Moscow trading this year.
Minnikhanov also visited the South Pars gas field during his trip to Iran (http://topics.bloomberg.com/iran/), according to Shana.
The Zagheh field, located in southwestern Iran, will start production within 24 months with a volume of about 7,000 barrels a day of heavy crude, and output will eventually rise to 55,000 barrels a day, Naji Seydouni, the managing director of Petroleum and Engineering Development Co., (http://pedec.ir/) said (http://www.shana.ir/181678-fa.html) in the Shana report.
Inactive Field

The Zagheh field had been inactive for several years, the state-run Mehr news agency said in a report yesterday. A first oil well drilled several years ago was abandoned and Iran now plans to get further information by drilling a second well, Shana said. The Zagheh oil field is located 25 kilometers (15 miles) from the port city of Daylam, it added.
Iran is under four rounds of United Nations sanctions and separate punitive measures imposed by the United States (http://topics.bloomberg.com/united-states/) and the European Union that aim to isolate the country and punish it for its nuclear activities. The U.S. and its allies accuse Iran of seeking to build nuclear weapons, an allegation that it rejects, maintaining that its program is solely civilian.
Russia has disapproved of sanctions on Iran, with President Dmitry Medvedev calling them “counterproductive” last week. Russia built Iran’s first nuclear power station, which started generating electricity in September.

To contact the reporter on this story: Ladane Nasseri in Dubai at lnasseri@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Bruce Stanley at bstanley5@bloomberg.net

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mp8S9kYXsC4

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Why Iran’s Absent From Psalm 83 – Part One (http://www.prophecydepot.net/2012/why-irans-absent-from-psalm-83/)

on Saturday, February 18, 2012 by Bill Salus (http://www.prophecydepot.net/author/bill-salus/)

This article was taken from a portion of the biblical commentary of the same name in my book called Revelation Road (http://www.prophecydepot.net/2011/revelation-road-video-trailer/).


As the Psalm 83 confederates image depicts, Syrians and Iraqis find association through Assyria, Hezbollah via Tyre in Lebanon, and Hamas hailing from Gaza connects with Philistia. However, there is no mention of Iranians by their three primary historical names, Elamites, Medes, or Persians. This is puzzling, considering Iran reportedly formed bona fide war-pacts in December, 2009, with Syria, Hezbollah, and Hamas.
http://www.prophecydepot.net/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/psalm83map2.jpg



Because Iran is presently providing weapons to Syria, Hezbollah, and Hamas, some suggest Iran may be included in Psalm 83 as part of the Assyrians. The Assyrians seem to be among the stronger members in the psalm, because they support the Jordanian army referred to as the children of Lot (Moab and Ammon) in Psalm 83:8.
Assyria also has joined with them; they have helped the children of Lot [Jordanians]. Selah (Psalm 83:8)


The pitfall of connecting modern-day Iran with Assyria is that during the psalmist’s time, Assyria only comprised much of what is today northern Syria and part of Iraq.
In order for Iran to be mentioned in Psalm 83, the psalmist would need to have included, Elam, Media, or Persia in the confederate lineup. At the time the Psalm was written about 3,000 years ago, Elam existed in what is now west-central Iran, Media existed in eastern Iran and far beyond, and Persia occupied primarily the northerly parts of today’s Iran. Thus, it is reasonably safe to exclude Iranians, which are primarily of Persian descent, from the predominately Arab confederacy of Psalm 83.

IRAN IS PERSIAN AND PSALM 83 IS ARAB


The Persian verses Arab distinction made in the previous sentence may be part of the reason Iran doesn’t participate alongside their Arab proxies in Psalm 83. The confederacy is dominated by Arab populations. Arabs and Persians have a longstanding history of warring against each other, dating as far back as the Persian conquest of the Babylonians around 539 BC. In modern history, Iraq and Iran fought against each other from 1980-1988.


Saudis, as the Ishmaelites, and Egyptians, as the Hagarenes, are members of Psalm 83 and they may feel threatened by any Iranian meddling in the Arab- Israeli war. Presently, both of these Arab countries are deeply concerned about Iran’s nuclear aspirations, and fear Iran’s greater goal is to subdue their respective nations in order to form a Shiite Crescent throughout the Middle East. Egypt and Saudi Arabia are primarily comprised of Sunni Muslims.


The Arab verses Persian argument is not the only possible reason Iran refrains from participating in the Psalm 83 War. Possibility number two is that part of Iran may be temporarily incapacitated at the time, according to a generally overlooked prophecy issued by Jeremiah.


In part two, we will look at the dual end time’s prophecies of Iran. Iran appears to experience a double jeopardy in the last days, but most scholars are fixated only on Iran’s role as Persia in Ezekiel’s prophecy regarded with the Gog of Magog invasion. At the time Ezekiel included Persia in the Magog coalition, it only covered a portion of modern day Iran; Elam and Media covered the rest.


Ezekiel appears to have purposely omitted Elam from Gog’s nine-member consortia; but why? It could be that the prophecies concerning Elam in Jeremiah 49:34-39 may hold the answer to this mystery. Find out more in part two called “The Dual End – Time Prophecies of Iran.”


Pick up your copy of Revelation Road here (http://www.prophecydepot.net/2011/revelation-road-video-trailer/).


The Dual Prophecies of Iran – Part Two (http://www.prophecydepot.net/2012/the-dual-prophecies-of-iran-%e2%80%93-part-two/)

on Tuesday, February 21, 2012 by Bill Salus (http://www.prophecydepot.net/author/bill-salus/)

http://www.prophecydepot.net/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/iran-double-jeopardy.jpg



Welcome to part two of this study regarding Iran in Bible prophecy. Part one, called “Why Iran’s Absent from Psalm 83, (http://www.prophecydepot.net/2012/why-irans-absent-from-psalm-83/)” lodged logical explanations as to why Iran is not part of the Psalm 83 Arab – Israeli war. Part two provides logistical reasons by demonstrating that Iran seemingly faces a double jeopardy in the days to come. This entire study is taken from the commentary of Revelation Road, Hope Beyond the Horizon (http://www.prophecydepot.net/2011/revelation-road-video-trailer/).


Even though Iran appears to be absent from the climactic, concluding Arab-Israeli War, they are not excluded from two other significant end-time’s events. The one most widely taught among eschatologists today is described in Ezekiel 38, and is commonly called the Gog of Magog invasion of Israel. In Ezekiel’s prophecy modern day Iran is represented by ancient Persia, and is clearly identified militarily “with a shield and a helmet,” in Russia’s coalition.

Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya are with them, all of them with shield and helmet; (Ezekiel 38:5)


Presently Iran is ranked #12 among world armies, and if Ezekiel’s prophecy were to find fulfillment today, this would position Iran as the third strongest army within the Magog coalition behind Russia ranked #2, and Turkey ranked #6. Moreover, if Iran was included in Psalm 83:6-8, which does not appear to be the case, it would make it the strongest army within the confederacy in front of Egypt (#16), Saudi Arabia (#26), and Syria (#35).


Interestingly, Iran presently possesses strong proxy relationships, and bonafide war-pacts, with Syria, Hezbollah, and Hamas. All three of these proxies appear to be part of the Psalm 83 Arab confederacy. And yet, Iran somehow gets excluded or, otherwise excused from participating directly in Psalm 83.


Some scholars, like Dr. Mark Hitchcock and Dr. Thomas Ice, teach that Psalm 83 is an imprecatory prayer and probably not a specific prophecy. If their interpretations are correct, then the preponderance of this study becomes a useless exercise in futility, and the current Mideast crisis has little to no connection with Psalm 83 whatsoever. However, if they are wrong, and I believe my books Isralestine (http://www.prophecydepot.net/products/) and Revelation Road (http://www.prophecydepot.net/2011/revelation-road-video-trailer/)evidences that they are; then one must wonder why Iran’s military might is not incorporated in the Psalm war.


Case in point, Psalm 83:4 says;


They have said, “Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation, That the name of Israel may be remembered no more.”


Comparatively, Iran’s president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has declared publicly on several occasions that, “Israel must be wiped off the map.”


These similar quotes suggest that Iran and the confederacy of Psalm 83 share the same Anti-Semitic sentiment toward the nation of Israel. If so; then why does Iran appear to be absent from Psalm 83?


Perhaps Persia’s utter destruction in Ezekiel 38:16 – 39:6 prohibits Iran from fighting in Psalm 83. Although this would satisfactorily answer the question about Iran’s apparent absence in the Arab war, the problem is that Psalm 83 probably precedes Ezekiel 38. If this is the case, then Iran’s “shield and helmet,” could still exist when the Arabs come against Israel. If so; then why don’t the Arabs invite mighty Iran to participate in their war party?


The prophecy that may precede Ezekiel 38 – 39, and answer the question about Iran’s conspicuous absence in Psalm 83 is located in Jeremiah 49:34-39. Jeremiah 49:35 predicts Elam (Iran) gets struck at the “foremost of its might,” which if unfulfilled as of yet, could allude to its nuclear program. The next verse says the Elamites (Iranians) will be scattered out of the immediate area into world nations.

Thus says the LORD of hosts: “Behold, I will break the bow of, The foremost of their might. Against Elam I will bring the four winds From the four quarters of heaven, And scatter them toward all those winds; There shall be no nations where the outcasts of Elam will not go. (Jeremiah 49:35-36, nkjv)
Jeremiah and Ezekiel were contemporaries of each other. They both wrote over 2500 years ago. Why did Ezekiel prophesy about Persia, and Jeremiah about Elam? The probable answers are three-fold;


1. Geographically – Elam and Persia occupied two adjoining territories at the time,
2. Culturally – these territories consisted of differing ethnicities, and distinct civilizations,
3. Prophetically – the two prophets were probably predicting separate events.
http://www.prophecydepot.net/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/bushehr-300x224.png (http://www.prophecydepot.net/2012/the-dual-prophecies-of-iran-%e2%80%93-part-two/bushehr/)



Presently, Persia and Elam comprise greater Iran. Elam covered west-central Iran as depicted in the image, and Persia encompassed most of the other surrounding territory. A careful study suggests both Ezekiel’s and Jeremiah’s Iranian prophecies appear to be unfulfilled end time events. If so, this suggests that modern day Iran faces a double jeopardy in the last days.


Jeremiah predicts that Elam will be struck at the foremost place of its strength. If such an attack occurred in the near future that would probably be its nuclear site(s). Not necessarily all sites, but specifically sites existing within the boundaries of ancient Elam.



A prime target would be the Bushehr nuclear site identified in the image.
Subsequently, the prophet warns that after the attack the affected populations are forced to scatter from the area. Jeremiah says, “There shall be no nations where the outcasts of Elam will not go.” This could be the result of Iranian’s attempting to flee from an isolated nuclear disaster. Should the Bushehr nuclear reactor be struck, this becomes a very real possibility because the facility is loaded with Russian supplied fuel rods. These rods were loaded during the summer of 2010. At the time former UN Ambassador John Bolton warned that once the rods were loaded in place, an attack upon the site could result in severe radioactive fallout.


If Jeremiah 49:34-39 is alluding to a pre-Psalm 83 strike upon Iran’s nuclear program, this could partially explain why the rogue state is not a participant in the Psalm. Additionally, perhaps nuclear fallout causes only the Iranians from the central west coast to evacuate into other nations, which would still leave the preponderance of Persia, (northern Iran) with some remaining shields and helmets to fight with in Ezekiel 38.


It is important to note that Ezekiel seems to intentionally omit Elam from the Gog of Magog invasion. This strongly suggests that not all of modern-day Iran participates in the infamous Gog of Magog invasion of Israel. This conclusion can be safely drawn by recognizing that Ezekiel 32:24-26 identifies Elam and Meshech and Tubal. Meshech and Tubal are listed in the Magog invasion, but Elam is not. Why not? Why didn’t Ezekiel list Elam alongside Persia to identify the entirety of modern-day Iran in his predicted invasion?


The fact that Ezekiel lists Persia in Ezekiel 27:10 and Ezekiel 38:5, and Elam in Ezekiel 32:24 implies that he recognized the territorial and ethnic distinctions between these two populations during his time. He probably omits Elam for the same reason that he omits the Arab populations identified in Psalm 83:6-8, which is because Elam and the Arabs of Psalm 83 do not participate in the Ezekiel 38 invasion.


The probable reason the Psalm 83 Arabs abstain is because they are dealt with in a prior separate war, won by the IDF. The likely reason Elam isn’t listed is because Jeremiah 49:34-39 tells us the Elamites are also involved in their own separate prophecy. Thus, there appear to be three prophecies identified: Psalm 83 (Arabs), Ezekiel 38-39 (Persians), and Jeremiah 49:34-39 (Elamites).
http://www.prophecydepot.net/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/nine-elam-prophecies.jpgIn summary, it is important to note that clear territorial distinctions existed between Elam and Persia when Jeremiah and Ezekiel prophesied. It is doubtful that all of modern-day Iran participates in the Magog invasion of Israel in Ezekiel 38. More likely is the possibility that only northern Iran joins in with Magog (Russia); otherwise Ezekiel should have included both Persia and Elam in his prophecy. Since Elam is not part of Ezekiel 38, it suggests that Jeremiah’s prophecy regarding Elam is a separate prophetic event. If Elam is struck at the foremost of its might prior to the fulfillment of Ezekiel 38, then this could be the reason Ezekiel omitted Elam from his prophecy.


Moreover, Jeremiah 49:34-39 introduces nine related prophecies concerning Elam. This study has only discussed two of them. These nine prophecies are identified in the image, and are thoroughly explained in the commentary portion of Revelation Road (http://www.prophecydepot.net/2011/revelation-road-video-trailer/). The pertinent commentary also presents a brief history lesson concerning Elam, and explains why Jeremiah’s Elamite prophecies still remain unfulfilled.


In the final analysis, Jeremiah’s nine prophecies of Elam may be simply adding more details to Ezekiel’s Gog of Magog invasion; but I doubt it.
To learn more about what the Bible says about the future of Iran, order your copy of Revelation Road (http://www.prophecydepot.net/2011/revelation-road-video-trailer/)here.



http://www.prophecydepot.net/2012/why-irans-absent-from-psalm-83/