Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz for several hours on Tuesday as its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps performed live-fire naval exercises. Along with belligerent rhetoric, the exercises are meant to threaten the United States.

• The move shows Iran’s fearlessness in the face of America sending more than 50 fighter jets to the region in addition to about 180 fighters on two aircraft carrier strike groups in the Arabian Sea and the Mediterranean Sea.

This strait, only 21 miles at its narrowest, connects the Persian Gulf to the Indian Ocean and the wider world. A long-term closure would be catastrophic for the global economy, leading to astronomically high energy prices. More than 80 percent of Middle Eastern oil and natural gas exports transit this passage. Most Middle Eastern economies, including Iran, rely heavily on free passage through the strait.

• The same day, both the U.S. and Iran claimed to have made progress in nuclear negotiations in Switzerland. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the two sides reached “a general understanding on a set of guiding principles.” The Wall Street Journal reported that Iran expressed willingness to move its enriched uranium offshore, potentially to Russia.

Daniel 11:40 records a prophecy for “the time of the end” describing a power bloc called “the king of the south” pushing at “the king of the north” and provoking a global conflict. As Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry explains in The King of the South, this bloc is radical Islam, led by Iran. The king of the north is a united European empire. Much of Iran’s “push” comes from its ability to threaten oil shipping routes. Mr. Flurry writes:

Controlling the Suez Canal, however, is not enough. Egypt tried that in 1956, when Britain, France and Israel kicked it out in one attack. But the situation is altogether different if this sea trade route is lined with radical Islamic nations possessing real airpower, including missiles and drones! This could give Iran virtual control of the trade through those seas. Radical Islam could stop the flow of essential oil to the U.S. and Europe!

The Strait of Hormuz is the one maritime choke point Iran controls directly. This week, it has threatened to cut the world off from it. This won’t be the last time Iran threatens to use its leverage over world trade routes, not to mention its influence over radical Islamic terrorism, against the West. Bible prophecy says Iran is just getting started.