Iran has emerged as a major national security challenge to the US, its neighbors, and Israel. This is not simply a matter of proliferation. It involves a wide range of potential threats, including asymmetric warfare.

A showdown between Israel and a confederation of countries, including Iran, is prophesied to occur in the Last Days.

Moreover, Iran competes at a strategic level using non-state actors like the Hezbollah and Hamas, its ties to states like Syria and Venezuela, and support of extremist movement in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The most critical focus of this competition is in the Gulf area. This is the area where Iran can already exert a major military threat, and where the flow of petroleum exports is critical to the entire global economy. The Gulf, however, cannot be separated from Iran’s ceaseless effort to export Arab-Israel tensions and conflicts, and use Israel as an excuse for its military build-up.

The end result is that four major sets of actors are now involved in the Gulf area in dealing with Iran: The US, the Southern Gulf or “GCC” states, Iraq, and Israel. Each perceives the threat differently, and each poses a different set of threats to Iran.

Source; Center for Strategic and International Studies

My comments;

Ezekiel 38: 2-5 says;

Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him, And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal: And I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws, and I will bring thee forth, and all thine army, horses and horsemen, all of them clothed with all sorts of armour, even a great company with bucklers and shields, all of them handling swords: Persia, Ethiopia, and Libya with them; all of them with shield and helmet

This is a prophecy about a future war in which Israel is attacked from all directions at once by a confederation of countries, many of which are called by names you won’t find on the map in 2011, because the names of the places have changed. But the war will take place nonetheless, and some of the names are recognizable.

Persia is the ancient name for Iran. The majority people group that live in Iran are still known as “Persians”

Ethiopia, I believe, is written here to demonstrate that the countries habituated by Black people in Northeastern Africa will take part in this attack, since when the prophecy was written “Ethiopia” was a name which referred generally to the entire area.

Libya, I believe, is included here to demonstrate the participation of the Arab people’s of the northern coast of Africa, for the same reason.

If you look closely at the events surrounding Iran/Persia and the other countries of the region today, you can see that they all have one thing in common that they don’t have in common with Israel.  They are all Moslem countries, and this, along with the demonically inspired hatred for Israel that they also share, will be the glue which holds them together long enough to fulfill the prophecy in Ezekiel 38-39.

We must pray for Israel and the Jewish people that this event will wake them up, and cause them to turn back to their God and His Son Yeshua Ha’Mashiach (Jesus Christ.)

Written by NTM Staff