ICG on Iran

Tehran, Iran

In his commentary last night, ICG’s Mark Armstrong wrote:

Whether or not mainstream media recognize it, the Iranian nuclear issue is the most urgent conundrum facing mankind. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu made his scheduled visit to Washington D.C. this week, and the meetings went virtually unreported. What little was available on the subject simply reiterated the U.S. administration’s adamant intention to follow the diplomatic route, planning to reward Iran with status in the “international community” if they’ll only allow UN inspectors to supervise their nuclear facilities. You’ll remember the great dividends this strategy has yielded recently, in North Korea for example.

Asked to comment on his visit to D.C., Netanyahu said simply, “We will defend ourselves.” As was pointed out last week, Israel’s best hope for moral and/or monetary support for any move to deprive Iran of the ability to wipe Israel off the face of the map may be in relations with Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the oil producing nations of the Gulf. Our Dept. of State has already showed its hand by letting it be known that if the diplomacy tactic fails, we’ll just have to get used to a nuclear Iran. How does Israel just get used to a nuclear Iran? The head of the Iranian army blustered recently that Iran would need just 11 days to obliterate the Jewish state. One of four Israelis say they’ll consider moving elsewhere if Iran gets to finish its bomb.

While Iran is considered to be an international concern, I disagree with Mark Armstrong that it is the most urgent conundrum facing the world right now.

However, the situation in Iran may have significant prophetic implications–especially if Israel decides that it needs to take unilateral actions to reduce Iran’s military capabilities.

The recent test launch of an Iranian long-range missile probably did not set well with the EU leadership. It is possible that Israel is waiting for Iran to make one more major public move that Israel will decide is sufficiently offensive to the rest of the world (or at least the USA) that Israel will feel is enough of an excuse to allow it to attack some of Iran’s nuclear capabilities with relatively minimal international criticism.

Since, contrary to the claims of PCG’s Gerald Flurry, Iran is NOT the future King of the South, it certainly may be that its military capabilities will be reduced soon (although that is NOT the only possible resolution of the Iranian nuclear situation).

Two articles of possibly related interest may include:

Is There A Future King of the South? Some no longer believe there needs to be. Might Egypt, Islam, Iran, Arabs, or Ethiopia be involved? What does the Bible say?
The Arab World In the Bible, History, and Prophecy The Bible discusses the origins of the Arab world and discusses the Middle East in prophecy. What is ahead for the Middle East and those who follow Islam?