Is an Attack on Iran Imminent?
Is an Attack on Iran Imminent?
The riots in L.A. seem to be calming down, but more protests are planned across the U.S. for this weekend. In today’s main story, Andrew Miiller looks at an important aspect of these riots—the support they’re getting from Mexico. These riots, he argues, are a foreign invasion.
All eyes on Iran: Is Israel about to strike Iran? That’s the rumor—and America seems to be preparing for a backlash. America is pulling out nonessential staff and family members from its embassy in Iraq. Sources say that personnel are also being moved out of Kuwait and Bahrain. Other embassies are brushing up their emergency protocols. The U.S. military is conducting a “voluntary departure” of military families. President Trump announced yesterday that U.S. personnel in the Middle East were being pulled out, saying, “It could be a dangerous place; we’ll see what happens.” The U.S. State Department instructed government employees and family members to restrict their movement in Israel, staying only in the vicinity of Tel Aviv, Jerusalem and Beersheba. “We are watching and worried,” an anonymous senior U.S. diplomat said. “We think it’s more serious than any other time in the past.”
The UK government warned mariners about “increased tensions” in the area that “could lead to an escalation of military activity.” More specifically, it warned: “Vessels are advised to transit the Arabian Gulf, Gulf of Oman and Straits of Hormuz with caution and are to report incidents or suspicious activity.”
Oil prices jumped about 5 percent on the news as investors tried to work out what the U.S. government knew that they didn’t. President Trump set a two-month deadline to work out a deal with Iran, which expires this week. Iran has not sent its response to the latest proposals. Even naive negotiator Steve Witkoff is sounding more aggressive. “A nuclear Iran poses an existential threat to Israel—and it is also an existential threat to the United States and the free world,” he said yesterday. “We must stand together resolutely so that Iran does not go nuclear—no matter what the cost to prevent it.”
The International Atomic Energy Agency voted this morning to pass a resolution against Iran for not complying with its nuclear obligations, the first time in 20 years it’s made that determination. This could pave the way for fresh sanctions on Iran.
Iran has responded aggressively. This morning, it announced it would open a new uranium enrichment site and upgrade its centrifuges. “The Islamic Republic of Iran has no choice but to respond to this political resolution,” read a joint statement from the Iranian Foreign Ministry and Atomic Energy Organization of Iran. Iran also announced it was holding military drills.
Oman announced this morning that nuclear talks scheduled for this weekend would still go ahead. Oil prices, while still up, have fallen a little. Whatever happens, don’t expect Iran to meekly back down. Iran has an important role in Bible prophecy: Its pushiness will prompt Europe to strike. Until then, unless our nations repent, any checks Iran receives will only be temporary. To learn more, read our booklet The King of the South.
Hamas takes aid workers hostage: Hamas attacked a bus with about two dozen workers from the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (ghf) in the Gaza Strip last night. ghf stated the attack has left at least eight people dead and multiple injured, and it fears Hamas may have taken some of its team members hostage.
ghf is a private American venture that Israel permits to distribute aid in Gaza as a counter to aid networks run by the United Nations and other international organizations that have been thoroughly infiltrated by Hamas. The fact that Hamas is openly attacking the opposition shows Israel’s strategy is working: Hamas is suffering from lost clout and resources.
“For days, Hamas has openly threatened our team, our aid workers and the civilians who receive aid from us,” said a ghf spokesman. “These threats were met with silence. … Tonight, the world must see this for what it is: an attack on humanity.”
Much of the coverage of the Israel-Hamas war claims Israel is intentionally starving Gaza by cutting off aid. The latest attack shows this is ludicrous; instead, it is Hamas that is taking advantage of foreign aid groups for its own purposes. We published an article when the war first started titled “Truth and Lies About the Israel-Hamas War.” While some of its stats are now dated, it still provides a good overview on how to cut through the deliberately confusing noise about the war.
IN OTHER NEWS
Only one person survived a Boeing 787 Dreamliner crash in India en route to London today; 242 people were on board. It’s not yet clear what caused the crash, but this is the first Dreamliner to crash after 14 years of use.
Iran isn’t the only nation with an illegal nuclear weapons program. North Korea is building a new site that looks very similar to its current uranium enrichment facility, the International Atomic Energy Agency said on Monday. Our In Brief has more on its dangerous push toward nuclear power.
Britain’s left-wing Labour government unveiled a massive new spending plan, with billions more going to the National Health Service, subsidized housing (usually given to migrants), nuclear power and defense. The government hasn’t announced how it will be paid for, but it will probably come from tax increases and more borrowing.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu survived a vote of no confidence yesterday after two coalition partners threatened to back a move against Netanyahu’s Likud Party and its refusal to legislate an exemption for ultra-Orthodox Jews from conscription. The man dubbed “Israel’s greatest political escape artist” lives to fight another day. But the vote was the strongest internal challenge to his leadership in months, and it shows growing fractures within Netanyahu’s right-wing camp.
America’s popularity has fallen dramatically over the last year. In 15 out of the 24 countries Pew surveyed, the percentage of people who have a favorable opinion of the U.S. has fallen substantially. In Mexico last year, 61 percent viewed the U.S. favorably—now it’s 29 percent. Canada has fallen from 54 percent to 34 percent. And in Germany, it’s gone down from 49 percent to 33 percent. In most countries, a majority said they had “no confidence” in Donald Trump. The only countries where a majority said they did have confidence in him were Nigeria, Israel, Kenya, Hungary and India. This isn’t necessarily a criticism of President Trump—it’s the logical consequence of his “America first” platform—but it is a warning that the world is turning against America.
Easter is the most important day on the Catholic calendar. It has been a great embarrassment to the church that it cannot agree with other groups on how to calculate the date. Pope Leo said last week that he is open to a new agreement establishing a universal date for Easter. The fact that different church groups decide for themselves when Easter is celebrated shows that the day doesn’t come from the Bible. Our free booklet Pagan Holidays—or God’s Holy Days—Which? has more on that. And our In Brief has more on this push for unity.
Fraudsters used fake Social Security numbers to steal $79 billion from U.S. taxpayers by claiming covid-19 relief, the Pandemic Response Accountability Committee said in a new report. They concluded that 13 percent of the $5 trillion the government spent on covid relief was stolen. That’s $400 billion from a nation trillions of dollars in debt. Our In Brief has more.
