Living Under a Nuclear Shadow

Good morning!

Most people don’t think about the threat of nuclear war, but it is an ever present cloud over humanity. Russia just drove two nuclear-related developments that remind us of this cold reality—one in Eastern Europe, one in the Middle East.

1) Yesterday, Russia and Belarus practiced deploying tactical nuclear weapons from mobile and improvised sites.

• The exercise came swiftly, just one day after Ukraine launched its largest-ever drone attack on Moscow. It was officially described as a preplanned exercise, but the timing strongly suggests it was accelerated in direct response to the drone attack.
• Ukraine condemned it as nuclear blackmail and accused Russia of turning its neighbor Belarus into a forward nuclear base.
• Russia began stationing tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus in 2023. In 2024, it revised its nuclear doctrine to extend nuclear protection to Belarus and broaden the conditions under which it could use nuclear weapons.
• These deployments and exercises demonstrate key Bible prophecies showing that Russia is regaining control over its former Soviet satellites and preparing for a prophesied nuclear war.

2) Meanwhile, Russia is advancing its nuclear work with Iran. This is truly bold in the midst of (or the aftermath of?) the Iran war and President Trump’s repeated insistence on preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.

• Concreting and reinforcing work has resumed on the second power unit at Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant, Rosatom chief Alexey Likhachev confirmed this past Saturday. Bushehr is Iran’s only operating nuclear power plant (a Russian-built reactor), a civilian facility under iaea safeguards.
• Russian specialists are on site, despite earlier evacuations prompted by U.S.-Israeli strikes that degraded Iran’s weapons-relevant enrichment facilities at Natanz, Fordow and elsewhere. It is unmistakable strategic defiance against U.S. pressure.
• Despite devastating strikes last summer and more recently, Iran retains its highly enriched uranium stocks and nuclear know-how—and continues to benefit from Russia’s help as it rebuilds.

These moves coincide with the expiration of the New start treaty in February, ending verifiable limits on U.S. and Russian strategic arsenals.

As geopolitical tensions rise, a growing number of nuclear-armed nations are openly calling for or actively expanding and modernizing their nuclear arsenals:

• China continues its rapid buildup, having roughly doubled its stockpile to around 600 warheads and enhancing its ability to launch these weapons from land, sea and air.
• Russia and the United States, freed from New start limits, are modernizing delivery systems, warheads and infrastructure.
• France has announced plans to grow its warhead numbers.
• India, Pakistan and North Korea are expanding their arsenals and pressing ahead with new delivery systems.

We don’t want to think about it, but the nuclear shadow is lengthening. Bible prophecy is clear that these weapons of mass destruction will be used.

Iran War Update

• President Donald Trump again threatened military action, then backed off: He claimed today that he had planned on attacking Iran tomorrow but changed his mind after lobbying from several Gulf Arab governments.
• Iran’s most recent proposal to formally end the state of war with the U.S. is for the U.S. to withdraw from the areas around Iran, pay for reparations, and force Israel to stand down in Lebanon. Last week, President Trump called a similar proposal “garbage.”
• European countries are negotiating with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps for safe passage of ships through the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian media reported. Bible prophecy states Europe will eventually sail its ships through Iranian territory—but not because of diplomacy.

Pakistan Braces for War With Iran

Pakistan sent troops, fighter jets and other military hardware to Saudi Arabia during the Iran war, Reuters reported yesterday. The two countries had signed a mutual defense treaty last year, obligating them to defend each other in war.

• It’s an interesting development, particularly since Pakistan has been mediating between Iran and the United States.

The Pakistanis look like they’re bracing for conflict with Iran:

• Reuters claims Pakistan sent 8,000 troops to Saudi Arabia, along with a full squadron of about 16 JF-17 fighter jets. Pakistan also reportedly sent two drone squadrons and a Chinese-made HQ-9 air defense system. Two sources told Reuters that Pakistan even intended to send warships.
• One source who saw the text of the defense agreement says it allows Pakistan to send up to 80,000 troops to Saudi Arabia, Reuters claims. The Pakistani government has previously implied the agreement puts Saudi Arabia under Pakistan’s nuclear umbrella. Pakistan has an estimated 170 nuclear warheads.

Prophetic perspective: Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry writes in The King of the South that Daniel 11:40 prophesies that Iran will ignite a nuclear world war by starting a conflict with Germany. Daniel states that Germany will conquer Iran “like a whirlwind,” implying Germany will place forces in the nations bordering Iran.

A related prophecy in Psalm 83 says the Ishmaelites, or Saudi Arabia, will be part of this strategy. Pakistan could be as well. The King of the South states:

Germany also has a strong relationship with Pakistan, Iran’s nuclear neighbor to the east. West Germany and Pakistan had strong relations since the 1950s out of a mutual hostility toward the Soviet Union. Germany is Pakistan’s largest trade partner within the EU. German arms exports to Pakistan are worth tens of millions of euros each year …. Pakistan [has historically been] among the top 10 export markets for German arms.

Although Pakistan is not listed in the Psalm 83 alliance, it could still play a role in Germany’s prophesied attack on Iran.

Will U.S.-China Trade Truce Come at Taiwan’s Expense?

American and Chinese officials will create two new organizations—a “board of trade” and a “board of investment”—to reduce tariffs and boost bilateral commerce between the world’s two largest economies, the White House said Sunday. The news comes after U.S. President Donald Trump’s two-day visit to Beijing last week. Though it is being touted as a victory, it casts a troubling shadow over Taiwan’s independence.

• China also agreed to buy 200 American-made Boeing aircraft as well as aircraft components, and purchase at least $17 billion per year in agricultural products. It said it will resolve U.S. concerns over supply chain disruptions and shortages of rare earth and certain other critical minerals.

The U.S. statement makes no mention of Taiwan, but China’s readout called the island the “most important issue” in U.S.-China relations and warned that American mishandling of the matter would lead to “clashes and even conflicts.”

• In December, the Trump administration approved a record $11 billion arms package for Taiwan. However, after the China trip, Trump said he was weighing whether to move forward on a second $13 billion arms deal with Taiwan.
• “I haven’t approved it yet,” he said. “We’re going to see what happens. I may do it; I may not do it. I’m holding that in abeyance, and it depends on China. It’s a very good negotiating chip for us, frankly. It’s a lot of weapons.”

For decades, the Trumpet has warned that America’s lack of resolve will be the primary factor that enables China to seize Taiwan. In 1998, after President Bill Clinton yielded to Chinese pressure and issued a statement critical of Taiwanese independence, Gerald Flurry wrote:

The Chinese leaders pressured the president and America to speak against our freedom-loving friends before the whole world. … The people of Taiwan fear for their future. They feel betrayed. …

Once again, America has showcased its broken will to the whole world. …

How could anyone fail to see that Taiwan is destined to become a part of mainland China? These [23 million] people are going to be forced into the Chinese mold; and it is going to happen for one reason: because of a pitifully weak-willed America.

Does freedom really mean so little to us?

Mr. Flurry grounded his analysis of America’s faltering will, and its role in the China-Taiwan equation, in biblical prophecy.

• Leviticus 26 records God’s warning to the descendants of Israel—mainly modern America and Britain—that if they refused to obey Him, then He would “break the pride of [their] power” (verse 19).

With President Trump openly discussing Taiwan as a “negotiating chip,” it is clearer than ever that America’s broken will is going to shatter the nation’s independence. To understand, order your free copy of Russia and China in Prophecy.

IN OTHER NEWS

Germany to deploy air defense to Turkey: The German Armed Forces will deploy a Patriot air and missile defense task force to Turkey, along with 150 German military personnel, from late June to September, the German Defense Ministry announced yesterday. The mission is framed as an effort to help share the defense obligations of nato and relieve a unit from the U.S. Germany, however, has its own ambitions in the region.

The U.S. Justice Department is preparing a federal indictment against Raúl Castro, Cuba’s former president. The charges are linked to the Feb. 24, 1996, downing of two civilian planes flown by the Miami group Brothers to the Rescue. Cuban fighter jets downed the planes, killing four Cuban-American pilots: Carlos Costa, Armando Alejandre Jr., Mario de la Peña and Pablo Morales. Castro, now 94, was Cuba’s minister of the armed forces at the time. The planned indictment is part of increased pressure on Cuba’s government. Castro could not be extradited from Cuba, but the charges would carry symbolic weight.

WHO chief worried about Ebola outbreak: Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the World Health Organization, announced this morning that he is concerned about the speed and scale of an Ebola outbreak. Since the first known case developed around April 24 in the Democratic Republic of Congo, there have been 516 suspected cases, 35 confirmed cases and 131 deaths. Two of the confirmed cases are in neighboring Uganda. Some health workers have also caught the virus, raising fears it is spreading in hospitals. Jesus Christ prophesied in Matthew 24 that plagues would be among the dire signs that precede His Second Coming.

Three killed in shooting at San Diego mosque: Yesterday, two teenage gunmen opened fire at the Islamic Center of San Diego, killing a security guard and two other men outside the mosque. The suspects, Cain Clark, 17, and Caleb Vazquez, 18, were later found dead in a car from self-inflicted gunshot wounds. The mother of one teen called police two hours earlier to report her suicidal son had run away with three guns. All the children at the mosque’s day school were safe. The shooting happened at the largest mosque in San Diego County, just days before the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha. No motive has been confirmed, but authorities found anti-Islamic writings in the vehicle. Rising violence is reminiscent of a sobering prophecy in Ezekiel 7:23: “Make a chain: for the land is full of bloody crimes, and the city is full of violence.”