Weekly Update: Persia and Israel
The government in Iran – a country that covers the region of “Persia” of the Bible, and, like other states in the region, contains many different ethnic groups – continues to present a massive, existential threat to the national existence of the Jewish people in the land. Put simply, Israel is under siege.
This is due to the deeply anti-Semitic Islamic fundamentalist ideologies of the current regime. Iran is not only building capability to produce nuclear weapons in Iran, it sponsors anti-Western militia in several other states in the region, including Lebanon, Syria and Yemen, that have as one of their objectives the destruction of the Jewish people.
Outgoing President Trump enforced a zero-tolerance policy, withdrawing from the infamous Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) agreement negotiated under the Obama Administration, and imposing heavy sanctions that are crippling the country. To the alarm of many, President-elect Biden has announced he intends to re-negotiate this agreement, in line with the internationalist philosophy of international relations advocated by the incoming Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
In the meantime, Iran continues to build its nuclear capabilities. Last week Iran “upped the ante” by publicly confirming the production of enriched uranium at an underground nuclear facility and seizing a South Korean oil tanker transiting the Persian Gulf.
Earlier this week, Israel carried out air strikes on dozens of sites in the Deir al-Zor region of eastern Syria and in Albukamal near the Syria-Iraq border, destroying warehouses and sites belonging to pro-Iranian militias and the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).
The Iranian regime is led by the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ali Khamenei, who is 81 years old. What will happen when he dies? Who will take over the leadership? Is there a prospect of regime change?
Let us keep this situation in our prayers. We also should pray for the people of Iran, many of whom are victims of, and suffering from, a regime they do not support.
The Editorial team
Israel & Christians Today
Foreign Policy: “This week’s escalation of tensions by Tehran looks like blackmail to force Biden to abandon sanctions—and give up leverage over the regime.” Read more..
JPost reports that airstrikes, allegedly carried out by Israel, targeted dozens of sites in the Deir al-Zor region of eastern Syria and in Albukamal near the Syria-Iraq border early Wednesday morning 13th January. Read more..
Seth Frantzman writes that the Jewish state has carried out more than 1,000 airstrikes on Iranian positions in Syria over the last five years. Read more..
Israel’s Ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan urges the United Nations Security Council to do more to combat state sponsored terrorism such as that executed by Tehran. Read more..
According to Yaakov Lappin at BESA, “the Israeli defense establishment is in the middle of an intense race against time. The goal of this race is to adapt to the growing threats posed to the country’s home front, and to strategic targets such as ports and power plants, from the terror armies located on Israel’s doorstep—threats that will remain long after Israel is able to place the pandemic behind it.” Read more..
Dr. Ardavan Kashnood at BESA writes: “The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ali Khamenei, is 81 years old and reportedly in declining health. The question of the succession will be decided by the regime’s Assembly of Experts, who will choose the new Supreme Leader following Khamenei’s death. Six individuals have emerged as possible successors.” Read more..
The Vienna-based branch of the NGO Stop the Bomb on Monday issued a stinging indictment of Wolfgang Stanek, the president of Austria’s umbrella parliament covering its nine state governments, because of his efforts to expand trade with the Islamic Republic of Iran. Read more..
Andrew Tucker writes that Europe is gradually turning its back on the Jewish people and Europe’s own Judeo-Christian heritage: Read more..
Is modern Iran the “Persia” referred to in the Bible?
7 “‘Get ready; be prepared, you and all the hordes gathered about you, and take command of them. 8 After many days you will be called to arms. In future years you will invade a land that has recovered from war, whose people were gathered from many nations to the mountains of Israel, which had long been desolate. They had been brought out from the nations, and now all of them live in safety. 9 You and all your troops and the many nations with you will go up, advancing like a storm; you will be like a cloud covering the land.
