Hours after Lieberman urges USA to strike Iran, an explosion kills scores on the 4th anniversary of Soleimani’s killing
#BREAKING Iranian media are reporting an explosion in a street leading to the tomb of former IRGC Quds Force Commander Qassem Soleimani in Kerman, as regime supporters gathered to mark the fourth anniversary of his killing in a US drone strike. pic.twitter.com/aYgAYel4wc
— Iran International English (@IranIntl_En) January 3, 2024
Former US Senator Joe Lieberman was on NewsMax last evening:
Joe Lieberman: Time to Strike Iran
January 3, 2024
Both the Obama and Biden administrations share the blame for the rising threat from Iran, former Sen. Joe Lieberman told Newsmax on Tuesday.
This comes amid a rare public warning by the International Atomic Energy Agency saying that Iran is tripling its nuclear output. …
Lieberman pointed out that the Iranian mullahs and Ayatollah Khamenei consistently proclaim hate for and the desire to destroy America.
“So you can’t make deals … with people like this,” Lieberman said. “This is not going to get better, it’s going to get worse unless the Iranians fear us.”
“If we don’t hit them hard in Iran, they’re going to just keep going, and, one day soon, they’re going to have a nuclear weapon. But if we do, I think they’ll think twice about it,” Lieberman added. “Only strength is the answer here. We’ve got it, it’s time for America to use it.” https://www.newsmax.com/newsmax-tv/joe-lieberman-iran-nukes/2024/01/02/id/1147997/
Well, hours later, an explosion went off in Iran:
January 3, 2024
Two bombs exploded Wednesday at a commemoration for a prominent Iranian general slain in a U.S. drone strike in 2020, Iranian officials said, killing at least 103 people as the Middle East remains on edge over Israel’s war on Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for what appeared to be the deadliest militant attack to target Iran since its 1979 Islamic Revolution. At least 211 people were wounded. …
A senior official called the blasts a “terroristic” attack, without elaborating on who could be behind them amid wider tensions in the Mideast over Israel’s ongoing war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. No group immediately claimed responsibility. …
The blasts struck an event marking the the fourth anniversary of the killing of Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the head of the Revolutionary Guard’s elite Quds Force. who died in a U.S. drone strike in Iraq in January 2020. The explosions occurred near his grave site in Kerman, about 820 kilometers (510 miles) southeast of the capital, Tehran.
Authorities said some people were injured while fleeing afterward. Footage suggested that the second blast occurred some 15 minutes after the first. A delayed second explosion is often used by militants to target emergency personnel responding to the scene and inflict more casualties. …
Kerman’s deputy governor, Rahman Jalali, called the attack “terroristic,” without elaborating. Iran has multiple foes who could be behind the assault, including exile groups, militant organizations and state actors. Iran has supported Hamas as well as the Lebanese Shiite militia Hezbollah and Yemen’s Houthi rebels. https://apnews.com/article/iran-us-soleimani-explosion-kerman-2524cfed1d040370bf98000e2b53ad5a
And while that attack does not sound like an act by the USA (it sounds like a terrorist attack), the fact is that the Iranians have long been mad at the USA for killing their general Qasem Soleimani. Notice a threat made against the USA three years ago related to that:
Trump, others linked to Soleimani killing ‘will not be safe on Earth,’ Iran official warns
January 2, 2020
President Trump and anyone else linked to the U.S. strike one year ago that killed a notorious Iranian general “will not be safe on Earth,” a top official in Tehran warned Friday, according to a report.
Speaking in Tehran on Friday, Ebrahim Raisi, Iran’s judiciary chief, said not even Trump was “immune from justice” for his role in the strike in Baghdad that killed Gen. Qasem Soleimani, a major general in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the Times of Israel reported.
“They will witness severe revenge,” Raisi told the gathering at Tehran University, referring to Trump and U.S. military leaders. “What has come so far has only been glimpses.”
“Do not presume that someone, as the president of America, who appeared as a murderer or ordered a murder, may be immune from justice being carried out. Never,” Raisi reportedly continued. “Those who had a role in this assassination and crime will not be safe on Earth.”
Sunday will mark the anniversary of the death of Soleimani, who was also the long-running leader of the elite intelligence wing called Quds Force – which itself has been a designated terror group since 2007. Considered one of the most powerful men in Iran, he routinely was referred to as its “shadow commander” or “spymaster.”
U.S. officials have said President Trump ordered the U.S. military strike that killed the 62-year-old general on an access road to Baghdad International Airport. The same operation reportedly killed at least seven other people. https://www.foxnews.com/world/trump-others-linked-to-soleimani-killing-will-not-be-safe-on-earth-iran-official-warns
Iranian leaders have regularly made threats against the USA that they have not, in general, been able to carry out.
Iran also cannot be happy with a drone strike into Lebanon yesterday:
Hamas deputy leader Saleh al-Arouri’s assassination sparks wider war fears
3 January 2024
The shadows stretching across the Middle East and beyond, since the start of the Israel-Gaza war, are now longer and darker with the killing of senior Hamas leader Saleh al-Arouri in Lebanon. …
Arouri, a deputy political leader of Hamas, was killed in a drone strike in southern Beirut. He was a key figure in the Izzedine al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas’s armed wing, and a close ally of Ismail Haniyeh, the Hamas leader. He had been in Lebanon acting as a connection between his group and Hezbollah.
Even before the 7 October war erupted, Lebanese Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah had warned that any targeted attack on Lebanese soil would trigger a “powerful response”.
But Hezbollah and its Iranian allies know the shape of their reply now, in the burning heat of hostilities, could change the shape of this war – and Hezbollah’s fortunes. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-67873573
Senior Hamas leader killed in Beirut blast, heightening fears of wider regional conflict
January 3, 2024Hamas said Tuesday that one of its senior leaders has been killed in an attack in the south of the Lebanese capital Beirut, raising fears of a potential escalation in fighting in the region.
Hamas media outlet Al Aqsa TV said Saleh Al-Arouri, deputy head of the political bureau of Hamas, was “martyred in a treacherous Zionist airstrike in Beirut.” …
The area is also a stronghold of Iran-backed Hezbollah. …
Meanwhile, a former Israeli ambassador to the United Nations, Danny Danon, praised the Israeli security and intelligence agencies for what he said was the “assassination” of Arouri on Tuesday. “Anyone who was involved in the 7/10 massacre should know that we will reach out to them and close an account with them,” Danon said on X. …
In addition to dealing a blow to Hamas’ leadership, the apparent attack also risks further broadening the arena of the Israel-Hamas conflict. It would mark the biggest Israeli strike on the Lebanese capital since the 2006 war between the two countries.
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati condemned the attack and said the “explosion is a new Israeli crime” aimed at drawing Lebanon into a new phase of confrontation, referring to the months-long tit-for-tat conflict between Hezbollah and Israeli forces in the Lebanon-Israel border region. …
The fighting has raised fears among the United States and other Western countries that a full-scale war could break out between Israel and the Middle East’s most powerful paramilitary, Hezbollah. …
Iran – which backs Hezbollah – condemned Arouri’s assassination and blamed the attack on Israel. https://www.cnn.com/2024/01/02/middleeast/beirut-lebanon-hamas-official-killed-intl/index.html
News reports suggest that Israel was behind the killing of Hamas leader Saleh al-Arouri in Lebanon.
A broader regional conflict may well occur in 2024 and that could result in a deal that would start the 3 1/2 year countdown to the start of the Great Tribulation. That was also discussed in our latest sermon: 24 Items to Prophetically Watch in 2024.
That said, Iran sometimes acts like it can defeat the USA (e.g. see ZH: Iran Evaluating 13 Retaliation Scenarios To Inflict “Historic Nightmare” On US).
But as Iran gets closer to making nuclear weapons (and at minimum, it can now produce what are called ‘dirty bombs’ as well as EMP bombs), it may hit the USA.
It should be pointed out that the USA, despite its military strength, is vulnerable to being hurt by EMP weapons as well as nuclear weapons, chemical weapons, dirty bombs, terrorism, and biological weapons that Iran and/or its ally Syria possess–as well as Iran’s proxies in other lands. It has been shown in a test that EMPs can basically work as advertised, and this may give the Iranians more reason to look further into using them if they feel pressed.
But Iran does not currently have the military power to defeat the USA–and the USA wants to keep it that way.
But what is ahead prophetically for Iran?
As I have written many times over the years:
Expect Iran to overplay its hand and believe it is more powerful than it really is. Israel, and perhaps even the USA, apparently will be negatively affected by Iran. (Thiel B. Iran pleased that sanctions have ended–so what is next for Iran? COGwriter, January 17, 2016)
If Iran acts on some of its more violent threats, the Bible shows that Iran will not end up faring well.
Notice the following prophecy which indicates at least part of its destruction before the latter days:
34 The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah the prophet against Elam, in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying, 35 “Thus says the Lord of hosts:
‘Behold, I will break the bow of Elam,
The foremost of their might.
36 Against Elam I will bring the four winds
From the four quarters of heaven,
And scatter them toward all those winds;
There shall be no nations where the outcasts of Elam will not go.
37 For I will cause Elam to be dismayed before their enemies
And before those who seek their life.
I will bring disaster upon them,
My fierce anger,’ says the Lord;
‘And I will send the sword after them
Until I have consumed them.
38 I will set My throne in Elam,
And will destroy from there the king and the princes,’ says the Lord. (Jeremiah 49:34-38)
Iran is having problems with its economy and many internal matters.
Iran’s hope seems to be that it will have the military capacity to takeover Jerusalem and then hopes that the Islamic world will follow it.
While I do not expect the Islamic world to follow Iran, it does have proxies with Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in Gaza, and the Houthis in Yemen.
That said, the Bible prophesies that Israel is prophesied to be hit hard from Iran (cf. Isaiah 22:6-10 where Iran is referred to as Elam). Iran may well use a nuclear weapon to cause “great damage” to Jerusalem (Isaiah 22:9).
Yet, Iran itself will not do well.
Here is a link to a short video that we put out a few weeks before the Hamas attack on October 7, 2023:
Iran and Israel Conflict
European Union foreign policy chief, Josep Borrel, has been brokering the nuclear negotiations involving Iran and said that he thinks the deal is “in danger.” Iran blames the United States, whereas the USA says they are not delaying it. Israeli sources stated that Israel will stop Iran from getting a nuclear bomb. Joe Biden says the USA would use its own military power to prevent Iran from getting such a bomb if need be. In 2021, Iranian lawmakers have submitted a bill seeking the government by law to commit to Israel’s destruction by the year 2040. Does the 22nd chapter of Isaiah point to damage coming to Israel from Iran and possibly Syria? Might Iran be concerned enough about limited progress with the USA to launch some type of attack? Is Iran the prophesied ‘King of the South’? Is it reasonable to think that the prophesied peace deal of Daniel 9:27 will not happen until after a military conflict. like a regional war? Should Christians watch the Middle East? Dr. Thiel and Steve Dupuie discuss these matters.
Here is a link to our video: Iran and Israel Conflict.
Iran needs to be cautious as biblical prophecies suggest it will be involved in militaristic ventures, and ultimately that will not end well for Iran.
Iran is a place to watch (cf. Mark 13:37). And was included in the list: 24 items to prophetically watch in 2024 (watch also the related sermon 24 Items to Prophetically Watch in 2024.).
Some items of possibly related interest may include:
Iran in Prophecy Is Iran in Bible prophecy? If so, what does the Bible teach? What names, other than Persia, may be used to describe Iran? There are also two related videos: Iran In Prophecy and Iran and Israel Conflict.
Gaza and the Palestinians in Bible Prophecy What does the Bible teach about Gaza and the fate of the Palestinians? Here is a link to two related videos: Gaza and Bible Prophecy and Gaza and Palestine in Prophecy.
Could God Have a 6,000 Year Plan? What Year Does the 6,000 Years End? Was a 6000 year time allowed for humans to rule followed by a literal thousand year reign of Christ on Earth taught by the early Christians? Does God have 7,000 year plan? What year may the six thousand years of human rule end? When will Jesus return? 2031 or 2025 or? There is also a video titled: When Does the 6000 Years End? 2031? 2035? Here is a link to the article in Spanish: ¿Tiene Dios un plan de 6,000 años?
The ‘Peace Deal’ of Daniel 9:27 This prophecy could give up to 3 1/2 years advance notice of the coming Great Tribulation. Will most ignore or misunderstand its fulfillment? Here is a link to a related sermon video Daniel 9:27 and the Start of the Great Tribulation. A short video is also available titled Trump’s Deal of the
24 items to prophetically watch in 2024 Much is happening. Dr. Thiel points to 24 items to watch (cf. Mark 13:37) in this article. Here is a link to a related video: 24 Items to Prophetically Watch in 2024.
When Will the Great Tribulation Begin? 2024, 2025, or 2026? Can the Great Tribulation begin today? What happens before the Great Tribulation in the “beginning of sorrows”? What happens in the Great Tribulation and the Day of the Lord? Is this the time of the Gentiles? When is the earliest that the Great Tribulation can begin? What is the Day of the Lord? Who are the 144,000? Here is a version of the article in the Spanish language: ¿Puede la Gran Tribulación comenzar en el 2020 o 2021? ¿Es el Tiempo de los Gentiles? A related video is: Great Tribulation: 2026 or 2027? A shorter video is: Tribulation in 2024?
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