‘A Whole Civilization Will Die’?

“A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again,” wrote Donald Trump yesterday. “I don’t want that to happen, but it probably will.”

• April 8 is the last day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, a holy day, so I’m writing this letter ahead of time, but I’m guessing that President Trump’s threat hasn’t come to pass the way he promised.

[BRIEF]

But really, a whole civilization has already been destroyed. More than 2,500 years ago, Iran was ruled by the Persian Empire. The shah of Iran celebrated the 2,500th anniversary of that great empire in 1971. Eight years later, his government fell, and the radical Islamists who replaced him have systematically blotted out the history of Persian civilization.

“Some historians believe that the shah’s costly and elaborate anniversary celebration, which overlooked the Islamic religion, was the spark that lit the fire that ended up seeing the country hijacked by radicals in 1979, just a few years later” wrote Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry in 2005.

“When you understand the history of King Cyrus of Persia and what he did for the Jews, you can begin to understand the hatred of Iran’s radical Islamists for the shah!” we wrote in the Trumpet.

“Radical Islam lives to destroy the Jews and conquer Jerusalem. The shah of Iran deeply revered the Persian king, who showed deep favor to the Jews, and who devoted his empire to supporting the Jews as they returned to Jerusalem and rebuilt the city and the temple! Radical Islamists hate this history because it so powerfully condemns them and undermines their fundamental cause!”

The great civilization of Persia has already been destroyed—by anti-Semitism. Modern Iran may be a nation, but it has little in common with the 2,500-year civilization founded by Cyrus the Great.

It’s a powerful reminder that it is moral collapse, more than military defeat, that dooms a civilization. And it’s a warning, because the same Satan-inspired anti-Semitism is stirring in the United States and around the world. Now is a good time to remember “The History Iran Forgot.”

France Brings Home Its Last Gold From the U.S.

The Bank of France has completed the removal of the last of its gold bullion from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, according to a press release issued last week.

• As a result, the central bank’s total gold holdings—unchanged at 2,437 metric tons—are now all stored domestically near Paris rather than partially in New York.

Billion-dollar strategy: Instead of shipping the heavy gold bars across the Atlantic Ocean, the bank sold about 129 metric tons in the United States between July 2025 and January 2026, when gold prices were at an all-time high. The bank used the revenue to buy the same amount of newer bars in Europe, resulting in a one-time profit of about $15 billion.

• The Bank of France has been replacing its older gold bars with newer ones that meet international standards for the past 20 years. This transaction was the final step.

Some wonder if the timing means France is worried about world events, such as possible trouble in the Strait of Hormuz that could affect the U.S. dollar’s role in the oil trade.

• The Bank of France says this was a preplanned business decision recommended by an internal audit in 2024. Yet given the fact that experts at Deutsche Bank and elsewhere say the conflict in Iran could accelerate the decline of the U.S. petrodollar, the Bank of France is probably happy to have its gold safely stored near Paris in case it needs it.

History: During the 1930s and especially World War ii, many European countries moved gold to the United States to protect it from Nazi invasion or wartime looting.

• Today, the full repatriation to domestic vaults reflects a changing world order in which trust in foreign custodians, even long-standing allies, appears to be waning.

Former Polish Finance Minister Konrad Raczkowski noted in 2024 that the European Central Bank may eventually expect eurozone nations to hold gold reserves equivalent to about 4 percent of gross domestic product. France’s holdings far exceed that benchmark (13 to 14 percent in relative terms), giving it a strong position should the global reserve currency system undergo significant change.

Trump and Tucker: Split for Good?

Tucker Carlson was arguably the most prominent media personality to support the reelection of United States President Donald Trump, but the relationship between the two appears ruined.

Even as Carlson embraced conspiracy theories around Jewish supremacy and Holocaust denial and President Trump embraced a close relationship with the State of Israel, the two disagreed but stopped short of disowning each other. This is now history.

• Last month, Carlson called the launching of the Iran war “disgusting and evil.” President Trump responded that Carlson had “lost his way” and is “not maga.”
• On Sunday, the president wrote an obscenity-laden social media post. The next day, Carlson called the president’s statement “vile on every level,” saying it was blasphemous to post it on Easter morning and disrespectful to Islam.
• Regarding the president’s later threat that Iranian “civilization will die” if there is no ceasefire deal, Carlson called on U.S. officials to disobey the president’s orders. “If you work in the White House or the U.S. military, now it’s time to say no, absolutely not, and say it directly to the president: No,” he said on his podcast April 7.
• Responding to Carlson’s comments, Trump said: “Tucker’s a low-IQ person that has absolutely no idea what’s going on. He calls me all the time; I don’t respond to his calls. I don’t deal with him. I like dealing with smart people, not fools.”

“MAGA: Split Over Israel” shows that such sharp disagreements over the Iran war trace back to religious disagreements over the Jewish people.

• Figures like Carlson believe the Catholic Church and its derivatives have replaced the Jews as God’s people, so America expending its power to help the Jewish state amounts to collaborating with an enemy.
• Others emphasize the religious and cultural links between America and Israel, and support America siding with Israel in Middle Eastern wars.

President Trump seems to be siding with the pro-Israel wing for the moment—strongly enough to publicly disavow the Carlson wing. But Carlson and other anti-Israel commentators are influential; losing their support could cost President Trump politically.

If the war, midterms or another major issue goes awry for the president, he may have to submit to the anti-Israel bloc’s political pressure, which could hurt the special America-Israel relationship.

IN OTHER NEWS

Iran’s regime is dying to stay in power: Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian declared yesterday that he was ready to die defending Iran along with 14 million other Iranians. Hours earlier, according to the Jerusalem Post, another Iranian official called on young people to act as human shields around Iran’s critical infrastructure in hopes the U.S. would refrain from striking those targets. One way or another, watch for Iran’s current Islamist terrorist regime to remain in power and grow more radical.

Anti-Semitic attack in Istanbul: Yesterday, three gunmen possibly linked to the Islamic State opened fire near Israel’s consulate in Istanbul. One gunman was killed and the other two were injured in a shootout with Turkish police; two police officers suffered minor injuries. Following several similar incidents already this year, the attack highlights the increase in anti-Semitic violence around the world.

AI push reflected in Samsung earnings: Yesterday, Samsung Group projected profits of $37.8 billion for the first quarter of the year, more than eight times higher than last year. Annual revenue is expected to exceed that of 2025 by 70 percent. Much of this profit boost comes from increased demand for Samsung memory chips used in artificial intelligence applications such as chatbots, enterprise, content creation and defense. Analysts expect demand for AI hardware and software to continue expanding, but few executives, investors or everyday users have stopped to think about the consequences.

Vance’s visit to Europe hurts trans-Atlantic relations, again: United States Vice President JD Vance arrived in Hungary yesterday to help Prime Minister Viktor Orbán campaign ahead of Sunday’s elections, which could possibly end the latter’s 16 years in power. Orbán is unpopular with other leaders in the European Union, and Vance’s support for the prime minister is not well received either. Yesterday, Vance accused the EU of “one of the worst examples of foreign election interference” he had ever seen to try to oust Orbán. America supporting a man whom Europeans view as pro-Russia only serves to further strain Europe-U.S. relations.

Schools invest in drones to stop school shooters: Schools in Florida and Georgia have purchased special nonlethal Black Arrow drones from a Texas company, Mithril Defense, as part of state-funded programs to respond to potential active shooters, the Wall Street Journal reports. The drones are housed in ceiling stations; when activated, they can quickly fly through halls, blast loud sirens, flash bright lights, and spray pepper gel to stop a threat. They also send live videos to the police. School shootings in the U.S. have risen sharply, from about 20 in 1970 to 251 in 2021. Technology like this may help responders act faster, but even advanced technologies cannot fully counter the deeper problem of hatred and violence that has infected U.S. society.

Teens likelier to get heart inflammation after COVID vaccines: A study published in Scientific Reports last week analyzed nearly 500,000 Norwegian adolescents. It found that after a second dose of mrna covid-19 vaccines, teens had a risk of heart inflammation 5.3 times higher than their unvaccinated peers. Risks were also elevated for anaphylaxis, lymphadenopathy and, in some analyses, appendicitis or seizures/convulsions. Experimental mrna vaccines were hailed as a miracle to help covid-weary societies return to normal, but they have done irreparable damage. For more information, read Trumpet executive editor Stephen Flurry’s 2021 article “Gotten Your Jab Yet?”