Ceasefire or War, the Regime Will Remain

Did you think the ceasefire President Trump announced Tuesday evening would mean lasting peace? The Middle East remains on a knife-edge, with continued attacks, accusations and denials of deal breaches, and threats to resume combat.

• The exact terms of the ceasefire are unclear, and different sources give contradictory reports.
• Right after it was announced, Israel launched a severe assault on Hezbollah, saying the deal did not cover Lebanon.
• Iran called this a violation and restricted Hormuz traffic again but framed it as “managed safe passage.” The U.S. insisted that the strait fully reopen and is keeping its forces on alert.

So the war could resume at any moment. But we did get an unmistakable view of President Trump’s bottom line: He badly wants a deal that enables him to end the war. We also see his frustration over an insoluble dilemma: Ongoing ability to terrorize the Strait of Hormuz leaves the radical regime with enough leverage that it will remain in power, status quo ante bellum.

• This is precisely the outcome the Trumpet has foretold based on Gerald Flurry’s explanations of Bible prophecy.
• Our newest print issue went to press with specific outcomes up in the air, but it is even more relevant now, as something approaching an end-game comes into view.

Case in point: President Trump had said his main objective in the war was to prevent an Iranian nuke. But studying the details of potential agreements, the Telegraph writes, “the president’s deal has a hole in it. A giant, nuclear bomb-shaped hole.” Iran still has considerable quantities of 60 percent-enriched uranium, which is a short step from weapons-grade. It writes:

Iran, in other words, is just as close to developing a nuclear weapon as it was when the war began.

Trump’s peace proposal commits Iran to not developing a bomb. But in reality, even if Iran accepts it, this regime has always said officially that it will not develop a bomb.

The fundamental question is, does Iran’s regime really want peace? The answer is crystal clear, staring President Trump in the face.

• Mojtaba Khamanei, analysts insist, is more radical than his father. And he is essentially a puppet of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the ideological radicals who are running even more of the country than they were before the war began.

President Trump falsely insists Iran has already had regime change. He falsely believes he will be able to succeed in negotiations where several of his predecessors and all other world leaders who have tried have failed.

The truth is, as former UK Defense Minister Ben Wallace wrote in the Telegraph:

The Iranian regime is not only still in place but it is also emboldened. Yes, nearly all the top tier have been killed—but the even more hard-line subordinates are now in power. The Iranian population has been pushed together rather than apart.

The truth is, Iran’s regime will never give up its radical ideology. It will never be a peace-loving, West-friendly government—no matter how devastatingly it is bombed, how many leaders are assassinated, or how friendly and indulgent America’s diplomatic team is.

It appears this war will conclude, possibly soon, under pretenses to the contrary. America’s strength will have been spent in vain; Iran will remain positioned to provoke and push. And Bible prophecy will proceed apace.