Why Victory in Iran Is So Elusive

Good morning!

“The war is over,” Marco Rubio said yesterday. Is it?

[BRIEF]

President Trump keeps ping-ponging between extremes: declaring the end of the Iran war and threatening to obliterate Iran. An odd, predictable pattern has emerged: tough rhetoric, temporary pullbacks for talks, renewed threats, occasional military strikes.

• Rubio’s statement came in the context of a breakthrough in talks, with Iran budging on previously nonnegotiable aspects of its nuclear program. Yet soon after, Iran was firing ballistic missiles toward American military bases in the Persian Gulf.

Why is a satisfactory end to the war proving impossible?

Herbert W. Armstrong foretold after World War II that the United States had won its last war. He reiterated this during the Korean War, the Bay of Pigs debacle and the Vietnam War. Why? Because of the curses on America prophesied in the Bible.

In the October 1961 Plain Truth, he wrote: “Unless or until the United States as a whole repents and returns to what has become a hollow slogan on its dollars: ‘In God we trust,’ the United States of America has won its last war!”

Take a hard look: The Iran war is giving us a vivid, technicolor picture of the curses on America that Mr. Armstrong recognized over 70 years ago. Consider:

1. Trump has been nearly right: He recognized the severity of the Iran threat and proved willing to attack it. During this war, several opportunities to make a bad deal have arisen, and he has thus far resisted following in Obama’s footsteps. Now he finds himself stuck, wanting to wrap up and declare victory but recognizing he can’t do so honestly.
2. Iran’s regime is stubbornly resilient: The Trump administration has abandoned its hope for regime change. The fanatical regime will remain intact, and with boasting rights for having successfully stood up to the “Great Satan.” That means:
3. America has spent its strength in vain: Estimates say the war’s price tag is $35 billion and counting; some analysts argue that true replacement and long-term costs will be far steeper. The conflict has depleted stockpiles of expensive missiles and air-defense interceptors, which could leave America vulnerable in other potential conflicts. It is following the familiar path of fustian conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.
4. Americans’ stomach for global engagement is gone: Little wonder, considering the mounting record of failure. But the lack of public support threatens to have stinging political consequences in November, it pressures Trump to accept some form of defeat, and it makes future conflicts—and future victories—even less likely.

Mr. Armstrong was right. Bible prophecy has a perfect record of foretelling these developments, and it’s clear that Herbert W. Armstrong was used to communicate what they mean for the modern world.

• Iran remains in position to fulfill its role as the end-time king of the south. And America is visibly suffering the curses of the pride in its national power being broken and its strength being spent in vain (Leviticus 26:19-20).
• The war that seemed to undermine these prophesies is actually hastening them.

Remember this lesson: At times, events seem contrary to what prophecy would have you expect. But just sit tight, and keep watching.

Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass. … For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth. —Psalm 37:7, 9

America to Send More Nuclear Weapons to Europe?

Never since World War ii have relations between Europe and America been worse. According to the Financial Times today, the Trump administration has a cunning plan to win Europe back: nuclear bombs.

Borrowing bombs: America has already loaned nuclear bombs to several European Union nations, including Germany. The Trump administration is apparently talking to several more countries about hosting “dual-capable aircraft”—jets that can launch both conventional and nuclear weapons. Poland and some Baltic states have expressed interest.

An alternative umbrella: The story comes shortly after German Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s security adviser, Günter Sautter, went to Paris for a first round of talks to join France’s nuclear umbrella.

• France offered the protection of its nuclear arsenal to Germany in March, and Spiegel reported on Saturday that the two sides held talks on May 27. With the protection of French nuclear weapons, Germany would no longer need America’s nuclear umbrella and would be freer to assert itself and the rest of Europe against the United States.

America’s sudden generosity seems like a belated attempt to stop the French proposal.

Nuclear gifts: “They give gifts to all whores: but thou givest thy gifts to all thy lovers, and hirest them, that they may come unto thee on every side for thy whoredom,” God says in Ezekiel 16:33.

“Could this apply better to any nation other than the modern United States?” the Trumpet wrote during President Trump’s first term. “America has given away some of the most powerful weapons ever created. Despite all the gifts, these powers are turning against the U.S.”

America is simultaneously antagonizing Europe and giving away incredibly powerful gifts. God warns that America’s lovers will soon turn against it.

Congressional Candidate Wants No Property, No Police, No Israel

Encouraged by the election of Zohran Mamdani to New York City’s highest office, the Democratic Socialists of America are doubling down in their efforts to further radicalize the Democratic Party.

• This radical group is endorsing dozens of political candidates nationwide, including the leftist activist Darializa Avila Chevalier.

Chevalier, 32, works for a New York City-funded, nonprofit organization in Harlem that represents criminal defendants. She is trying to unseat 71-year-old Adriano Espaillat and become the U.S. representative for New York’s 13th congressional district.

• She has received endorsements from New York State Senator Robert Jackson, former New York congressional representative Jamaal Bowman and Mayor Mamdani.

This background and these endorsements indicate that Chevalier is a left-wing radical, and a new cnn investigative review of more than 3,600 deleted social media posts and reposts reveals that she is far more radical than many suppose. In them, Chevalier calls for abolishing borders, abolishing police, abolishing private property and abolishing Israel.

• “A world without borders—just like a world without prisons or police—is possible, necessary, and the only moral way forward,” she wrote in September 2021.
• One repost from April 2020 said, “While most of the political theory I’ve read has been Communist, the pyromania associated with anarchism is very intriguing to me.”

In a statement to cnn, Chevalier said she has changed and that the posts do not reflect who she is today. Yet she still acknowledges that black Communists Angela Davis and Assata Shakur led her to her current political views. She may be trying to hide her radicalism to become more electable.

President Donald Trump became the first Republican president to win the U.S. popular vote in 20 years, largely because Democrats have shifted so far to the left. Although some of that support has eroded, the Democratic Party’s doubling down on radicalism is unlikely to help it win upcoming elections.

• Instead, it is likely to create violence and bloodshed in America as people like Chevalier become intrigued by “the pyromania associated with anarchism.”

A prophecy in Ezekiel 5:12 reveals that one third of the population of “Israel” will die from “pestilence.” This is not referring to an ancient destruction of Israel, because that had occurred before Ezekiel delivered his prophecy. His prophecy is for the nations of Israel today.

• This equates to more than 140 million deaths from the “pestilence” (destruction) of civil war, rioting, warfare and famine, 10 to 20 times more than in the Bolshevik Revolution, the bloodiest civil war in history.

America’s rebellion against God truly has opened the door to socialism, communism and many other diabolical forces. Learn more about the violent nature of the American left and what God prophesies for this nation in “American Bolsheviks.”

IN OTHER NEWS

Russia still in Syria? Russia appears to have retained access to its air base in Syria, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday. Russia’s use of Syrian territory was jeopardized when its main ally, former dictator Bashar Assad, was ousted in 2024, but the Journal cites U.S. officials and satellite imagery to reveal that Russian cargo ships have continued to resupply the base. Bible prophecy, however, reveals Russia’s presence in Syria will soon end, and it will be replaced by another major outside power.

Rheinmetall continues to arm Europe: On Friday, Romania ordered $6.6 billion worth of military equipment from Rheinmetall, Germany’s largest defense company. The order includes 298 Lynx armored vehicles, Skyranger air defense systems, ammunition and four naval vessels. Rheinmetall ceo Armin Papperger said the order “confirms our ambition to further expand our role as one of the industrial pillars of European security.” Rheinmetall is transforming Germany and all of Europe into a military powerhouse.

German military to overtake France: Fabien Mandon, France’s chief of defense staff, warned French senators that France could fall behind Germany militarily within five years, Politico reported yesterday. By 2029, Germany is projected to have a military budget of $178 billion, roughly double France’s projected $88 billion budget. He also warned that France has not “reached the level needed to fully address the challenges ahead.” As the Trumpet has repeatedly forecast, the leader of the coming European superpower will be Germany, not France.

Canada appoints anti-Semites to fight anti-Semitism: Prime Minister Mark Carney appointed an External Advisory Committee on Anti-Racism on Monday, largely to assess the amount of anti-Semitism in Canada. One member, Omar Alghabra, does not believe the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades are “terrorists,” even though Ontario deemed the group a terrorist organization the year prior. He said he “didn’t believe that Hamas wants the elimination of Israel,” even though the group’s 1988 charter calls for fighting and killing Jews and obliterating the State of Israel. Another member, Avnish Nanda, represented two pro-Palestinian groups that staged an anti-Israel protest encampment in 2024 at the University of Alberta. The apparent sabotage of this board is a warning sign of Canada’s social decline. To learn more, read “Welcome to Canada-stan.”

President Trump appoints acting director of national intelligence: Yesterday, President Donald Trump appointed Bill Pulte as acting director of national intelligence to replace Tulsi Gabbard when she steps down at the end of the month. As a federal housing regulator, Pulte aggressively pursued mortgage fraud accusations against the president’s Democratic opponents and was a leading voice in efforts to remove then Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. He has no intelligence experience, despite a federal statute requiring extensive national security credentials in the role. This fact has prompted many to speculate that the appointment signals preparations to prosecute Trump’s domestic political enemies. Generally, the attorney general handles domestic prosecutions, while the director of national intelligence focuses on protecting America from foreign threats like drug cartels and terrorist cells.