Iran’s Most Dangerous Job
Iran’s Most Dangerous Job
Good morning!
Who will lead Iran next? Who would want to? At this point, it could be the world’s most dangerous job.
Right now, until the Assembly of Experts chooses a new supreme leader, formal authority rests with a three-man interim council. Reports indicate the 88-member clerical assembly is moving quickly to replace Khamenei.
But Israel aims to muck up regime continuity. Yesterday, it struck the Assembly of Experts’ building in Qom. Israeli security sources said it was as they were voting, but Iran claimed it was an old, vacant “auxiliary” building. Either way, the incident highlights Iran’s vulnerability.
The front-runner for the next supreme leader is the late ayatollah’s son Mojtaba Khamenei. Some sources claim he’s already been elected. Hard-liners apparently want to install him quickly and continue the regime’s defiance. You can understand, though, why others would want to be more discreet for now.
The Israelis say whoever it is, if he keeps up Iran’s belligerence, they’ll kill him.
Iran has to take this threat seriously, considering how Israel has decimated the leadership of Hamas, Hezbollah and now Iran in the past two years. We’ve grown accustomed to seeing org charts of these groups with “Eliminated” stamped in red over senior figures’ faces.
Iran’s challenge is to survive with two things intact: the regime and its legitimacy as the standard-bearer of radical Islam.
The current war will likely be brief. But its conclusion won’t necessarily end the Israeli threat of assassination. Evading that would, it seems, require some level of pragmatism from Iran. But too much compromise would undercut Iran’s guardianship of the principles of the Islamic Revolution.
Prophecy shows that Iran will yet rise to provoke Europe into war. Further, it will do so after having built a new “axis of resistance,” including Egypt, Libya and Ethiopia, to replace what it has lost. And it will continue to find ways to attack Israel.
By all appearances, the current war is making all these outcomes less likely. It will be fascinating to see how these same events ultimately work to bring about the fulfillment of Bible prophecy. History shows this is often how the Bible’s sure prophecies mysteriously, miraculously unfold.
Trump Meets Merz: Praise for Germany, Fury for the UK and Spain
Judging by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s visit with U.S. President Donald Trump yesterday, you would think Germany is America’s best ally.
Regarding Iran, Merz said at a joint preconference: “We are supporting the United States and Israel to get rid of this terrible terrorist regime.” This statement alone makes Merz stand out from many other leaders.
Praise for Germany: President Trump introduced Chancellor Merz as a “friend” and “a very successful man” who is doing “a great job” and is “very popular.” He described the trade relationship as very strong.
Merz, however, isn’t popular in Germany, and the U.S. and the European Union have been on the verge of a trade war. Still, compared to some others, Merz’s Germany looks like a great ally. “Well, some of the European nations have been helpful, and some haven’t. … Germany has been great,” Trump said.
Fury for Spain: “Spain has been terrible,” Trump remarked. Most recently, the Spanish government refused to allow the U.S. to use its bases to strike Iran. Consequently, Trump announced cutting all trade with Spain. Merz agreed with Trump that Spain should spend more on its military. “Spain has been very, very uncooperative, and so has [the] UK. Now the second one is shocking,” Trump said.
Indignation for the UK: In the press conference, Trump said UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer was “no Winston Churchill,” condemning Starmer’s refusal to allow U.S. forces to use the Diego Garcia military base in the Chagos Islands and criticizing his immigration and energy polices.
Warning signs: The press conference lasted 35 minutes, and Trump spoke for 30 of them. Merz’s answers were deliberate and designed to avoid open dispute. However, at his party congress before visiting the White House, Merz mocked Trump. He later said Trump cannot deal with Spain or other EU member states separately from the rest of the union.
- Concerning the war on Iran and rising energy costs, Merz said: “This is of course damaging our economies. This is true for the oil prices, and this is true for the gas prices as well. So that’s the reason why we all hope that this war will come to an end as soon as possible.” This may be in Europe’s interest, but a quick end to the war in Iran could leave the regime intact.
Germany is currently positioning itself as an ally to the U.S., but not all allies are true friends. In fact, Jeremiah 4:30 warns, “[T]hy lovers will despise thee, they will seek thy life.” This applies to Germany, as Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry explains in Nahum—An End-Time Prophecy for Germany.
Cuban Leader Calls for ‘Urgent’ Economic Change
On Monday, Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel called for an “urgent” transformation of his country’s Communist economic model. The move appeared to be a concession to increased diplomatic and economic pressure from the United States.
- Cuban state media said Díaz-Canel spoke to the Council of Ministers, the highest body of the government, on the need to give municipalities and the Cuban private sector more autonomy. He urged more foreign investment in the energy sector and called for a “resizing of the state apparatus.”
On January 3, President Donald Trump suspended Venezuelan oil shipments to Cuba, and on January 29, he signed an executive order placing tariffs on any other country that sends oil to Cuba.
- Cuba requires roughly 100,000 barrels of oil daily for essential services and likely has less than three weeks of oil reserves left.
On February 4, the Trump administration said it would authorize companies seeking licenses to resell Venezuelan oil to Cuba’s private sector, forcing the Communist dictatorship to relinquish at least some control over businesses for the island nation’s economy to survive.
The Trump administration seeks to create a rift in the Cuban government between the old guard, who support doctrinaire Marxist-Leninism, and a new, more business-minded generation. This strategy appears to be working as the Cuban government just authorized private companies to partner with state-run enterprises as a first step toward coaxing the U.S. into selling it some oil.
- Some analysts, including Rep. Carlos Giménez, the only Cuban-born member of the U.S. Congress, says Cuba is approaching its Berlin Wall moment.
Prophecy says: The late Herbert W. Armstrong long forecast that the Berlin Wall would collapse and Germany would reunite. He based this on Bible prophecies about a revived Holy Roman Empire comprised of five nations in Western Europe and five nations in Eastern Europe. Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry made a similar Bible prophecy-based forecast about Cuba.
- In a 2015 article written shortly after the Vatican brokered a deal between Cuba and the Obama administration to restore diplomatic ties between America and Cuba, Mr. Flurry highlighted Bible prophecies about an economic siege of the U.S. by a revived Holy Roman Empire, noting that the Catholic Church would be a greater enemy than the Communist Party of Cuba.
- “Modern Cuba is a Communist nation, but it has only been Communist for about 50 years—less than a lifetime,” he wrote. “It has been a Catholic country for almost 500 years! Today, between 60 and 65 percent of Cubans say they are Catholic, so it’s clear that the church’s influence remains deeply entrenched. Fidel Castro is close to death. And Raúl Castro is quite old. So, the political equation could change radically in the next few years—or even months.”
Fidel Castro died a year later, and his brother Raúl stepped down five years after that. The main reason the Communist Party is still in power is Venezuelan oil, and now President Trump is cutting that off. This makes regime change likely if the U.S. keeps up the pressure. The Bible reveals what to expect next.
IN OTHER NEWS
Iran threatens Europe with war: Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei on Tuesday said any European support for the United States and Israel’s strikes on Iran would be an act of war, stating that European nations want to “deprive Iran of its capability and capacity to fight back.” Although any conflict between Iran and Europe could seem to be a mere sideshow, the Bible prophesies that these two powers are heading for a war far greater than any now happening in the Middle East.
European militaries move to Cyprus: Responding to an attack on a British base in Cyprus, apparently by the Iran-aligned Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah, Greece has dispatched two warships to the island nation. France has announced the deployment of a warship to Cyprus and an aircraft carrier strike group to the eastern Mediterranean. Britain is sending a Royal Navy destroyer, due to arrive next week. Europe’s eagerness to defend Cyprus points to Bible prophecies that the Europeans will soon use the island to go to war in the Middle East.
Norway to start defense talks with France: On Tuesday, Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide stated his country was willing to engage in talks with France over a European nuclear arsenal and defense agreement. Such talks are designed to end dependence on U.S. nuclear and conventional forces. This follows France’s announcement on Monday that it could deploy nuclear-capable warplanes to Germany and other European nations.
U.S. sanctions on Rwanda acknowledge failure of Trump peace deal: The United States sanctioned the Rwandan military and four of its top commanders on Monday for continuing the war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In December, President Trump proclaimed peace when he mediated a peace agreement between Rwanda and the Dem. Congo after two years of fighting. However, the fighting never really stopped, a fact that these sanctions acknowledge. The Bible prophesied not only the conflicts of our time but also the many failed attempts to make peace.
Chinese submarine design targets American homeland: Chinese submarines will soon be able to strike the U.S. mainland from positions closer to China than to the U.S., American naval commanders testified to Congress yesterday. Vice Adm. Richard Seif, commander of U.S. Navy submarine forces, said the ballistic missile submarines, currently under production, will soon “challenge the U.S. Navy’s long-standing undersea dominance.” Read more about this trend in “The Rise of China As a Superpower.”
