‘US base attacked in Iraq hours after Iran vows revenge for Damascus attack’
Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi
(Photo by )
Israel killed Iranian leaders in Damascus, Syria:
Israeli Attack Kills Top Iranian Commanders in Damascus
January 21, 2024
CAIRO —
An apparent Israeli attack on an Iranian military target Saturday in the Syrian capital of Damascus has killed at least five top commanders of Tehran’s elite al Quds Forces.
The attack leveled a residential building, burying victims under the rubble. Syrian TV showed a crane trying to remove debris from the collapsed building to pull bodies from under the rubble.
Israel has not officially commented on whether it was behind the attack.
Rami Abdul Rahman of the London-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights told Arab media that he believes an Israeli rocket struck the building, causing it to collapse.
He said that an Israeli missile struck the building despite some reports that a car bomb caused the explosion, which resulted in the building (housing the Iranian commanders) to collapse. He said that the area that was hit has an Iranian Revolutionary Guard presence as well as forces belonging to the Islamic Jihad organization and Lebanon’s Hezbollah militia.
London-based Iran analyst Mehrdad Khonsari told VOA that Israeli attacks on targets in Syria have been increasing in recent months, especially after the October 7 Hamas terror attack on southern Israel, and that many of the Iranian commanders are plotting attacks on Israeli targets inside Israeli territory.
“The ensuing goings on in Gaza have obviously accelerated and increased the number of Israeli attacks on such targets, some of which are a response to actions being taken by these elements who have hit against Israeli locations where people live on the Israeli side of the Syrian border, across from the Golan (Heights), and more importantly across the Lebanese border, given the fact that supplies for Hezbollah in Lebanon come through Syria,” Khonsari said. https://www.voanews.com/a/israeli-attack-kills-top-iranian-commanders-in-damascus-/7448479.html
This attack by Israel has angered Iran. Notice the following:
US base attacked in Iraq hours after Iran vows revenge for Damascus attack
21 January 2024
Iran-backed armed groups have targeted US troops in Iraq hours after Tehran vowed revenge and blamed Israel for a deadly attack on a building housing its elite forces in the Syrian capital Damascus, driving fears of wide regional conflict.
The attack caused one Iraqi and possible American casualties, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) said on Saturday, and came hours after Tehran vowed to take revenge against Israel for its strike targeting the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) in Syria. …
The stepped-up Israeli and US attacks targeting Iran-linked groups have the potential to trigger a regional conflict, pitting Iran and its allies against Israel and the US. …
According to Hassan Ahmadian, a professor at the University of Tehran, Israel is widening the conflict due to its inability to achieve its military goals in Gaza.
“Israelis have upped the ante of what they were doing beforehand,” Ahmadian told Al Jazeera, adding that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been vocal about calls for an escalation. …
On Saturday, Iran’s President Ebrahim Raisi said his country would retaliate against the attack in Damascus which killed five members of the IRGC. Tehran blamed Israel for the latest attack targeting its forces in Syria – a close ally of Iran.
“The Islamic Republic will not leave the Zionist regime’s crimes unanswered,” Raisi said, according to state broadcaster IRIB. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/1/21/iraqi-iran-backed-group-attacks-us-base-as-region-faces-threat-of-wider-war
Could we be seeing the conflict I have written about for years?
That writing has been based on the following:
1 The burden against the Valley of Vision.
What ails you now, that you have all gone up to the housetops, 2 You who are full of noise, A tumultuous city, a joyous city? Your slain men are not slain with the sword, Nor dead in battle. 3 All your rulers have fled together; They are captured by the archers. All who are found in you are bound together; They have fled from afar. 4 Therefore I said, “Look away from me, I will weep bitterly; Do not labor to comfort me Because of the plundering of the daughter of my people.”
5 For it is a day of trouble and treading down and perplexity By the Lord God of hosts In the Valley of Vision — Breaking down the walls And of crying to the mountain. 6 Elam bore the quiver With chariots of men and horsemen, And Kir uncovered the shield. 7 It shall come to pass that your choicest valleys Shall be full of chariots,And the horsemen shall set themselves in array at the gate.
8 He removed the protection of Judah. You looked in that day to the armor of the House of the Forest; 9 You also saw the damage to the city of David, That it was great; And you gathered together the waters of the lower pool. 10 You numbered the houses of Jerusalem, And the houses you broke down To fortify the wall. 11 You also made a reservoir between the two walls For the water of the old pool. But you did not look to its Maker, Nor did you have respect for Him who fashioned it long ago.
12 And in that day the Lord God of hosts Called for weeping and for mourning,For baldness and for girding with sackcloth. 13 But instead, joy and gladness, Slaying oxen and killing sheep, Eating meat and drinking wine: “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!”
14 Then it was revealed in my hearing by the Lord of hosts,”Surely for this iniquity there will be no atonement for you, Even to your death,” says the Lord God of hosts. (Isaiah 22:1-14 NKJV)
Elam is a reference to at least some in Iran. The old Worldwide Church of God published the following:
Iranians comprise nearly 70 percent of the country. Iranians, though Islamic, are totally distinct from the neighboring Arab peoples of the Middle East. They are a mixed people of the remnants of Media and Elam and other ancestors of Semitic and Hamitic stock. (Stump K. South Asia in Prophecy. Plain Truth, July/August 1986, p. 5)
Kir is of interest as it it looks to include Syrians and others in the region. For example, the Bible tells that after Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria took over Damascus, he moved Syrians to Kir. While this does not mean that Kir must (or must only) be a reference to Syria, the fact that Syria is an ally of Iran is interesting. Some believe Kir is an area in the south of Iran (which could then include some in Iraq), while others suggest closer to the Black Sea (which Turkey borders). God’s word has the expression “the Syrians from Kir” (Amos 9:7), which is basically confirmation that Kir of Isaiah 22 would include Syrians.
In Isaiah 22: 8, “Judah” is a reference to those in the land commonly called Israel–God will allow Israel to be attacked! In Isaiah 22:9, consider that “the damage to the city of David” is a reference to at least part of Jerusalem–and notice that the damage will be great. Such damage sounds like the type of “harsh consequences” Iran has threatened.
It would seem something like major damage to Israel and others will happen before there is a peace deal, such as the one scripture points to in Daniel 9:27.
As long time readers of this COGwriter Church of God News page are aware, I have long asserted that “peace deals’ normally happen after military conflicts. And that a regional war in the Middle East looks necessary before the temporary deal of Daniel 9:27 is confirmed.
We will see how the current conflict changes as it could turn into that regional war, particularly as other players in the region are indicating that it will.
As far as Hamas’ ally Iran goes, before the current Hamas-Israel war, we put out the following video:
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.
The fact that Israel hit Damascus is of interest.
The Bible shows that Syria’s capital, Damascus, will one day be destroyed:
7 thus says the Lord God: “It shall not stand, Nor shall it come to pass. 8 For the head of Syria is Damascus (Isaiah 7:7-8).
3 Thus says the Lord: “For three transgressions of Damascus, and for four, I will not turn away its punishment, Because they have threshed Gilead with implements of iron. (Amos 1:3)
1 The burden against Damascus. “Behold, Damascus will cease from being a city, And it will be a ruinous heap. 2 The cities of Aroer are forsaken; They will be for flocks Which lie down, and no one will make them afraid. 3 The fortress also will cease from Ephraim, The kingdom from Damascus, And the remnant of Syria; They will be as the glory of the children of Israel,” Says the Lord of hosts. (Isaiah 17:1-3)
23 Against Damascus. “Hamath and Arpad are shamed, For they have heard bad news. They are fainthearted; There is trouble on the sea; It cannot be quiet. 24 Damascus has grown feeble; She turns to flee, And fear has seized her. Anguish and sorrows have taken her like a woman in labor. 25 Why is the city of praise not deserted, the city of My joy? 26 Therefore her young men shall fall in her streets, And all the men of war shall be cut off in that day,” says the Lord of hosts. 27 “I will kindle a fire in the wall of Damascus, And it shall consume the palaces of Ben-Hadad.” (Jeremiah 49:23-27)
Damascus has been claimed to be the “oldest, continuously-inhabited city” in the world. And while some have questioned that claim, the reality is that Damascus has not been destroyed to the point of becoming the “ruinous heap” since God inspired Isaiah, thousands of years ago, to record that would one day happen. The destruction would be expected to come from some type of warfare.
I have long felt that there were two biblically-related possibilities.
One is when the King of the South and the King of the North turn against each other as prophesied in Daniel 11:40-43.
And the other is related to an attack by Iran and Syria against Jewish Israel and Jerusalem as prophesied in Isaiah 22:6-9.
Why the ambiguity?
Well, mainly because Isaiah 17:1 is not totally clear about the time period, though the verses past it may be pointing to timing related to Isaiah 22:6-9.
If that is the case, then we could see Damascus destroyed within a year. Otherwise, particularly if its destruction is related to Daniel 11:40-43, that will not happen for at least four years from now.
A decade ago, we out out the following video on our BibleNewsProphecy channel:
Damascus and Syria in Prophecy
Will Bashar Assad hold power as he has it? Does the Bible show that Damascus, the capital of Syria, will be destroyed? What will happen to Syria? Will the Syrians support the final King of the South that the Bible tells will rise up? Which scriptures discuss the rise and fall of an Arabic confederation? Does Islamic prophecy predict the destruction of Syria?
That video goes through various scriptures and certain Islamic prophecies to explain what may and what will happen to Syria and its capital Damascus. Here is a link: Damascus and Syria in Prophecy.
We are getting closer to the time of Damascus’ destruction.
Much is happening.
As Jesus stated:
37 And what I say to you, I say to all: Watch! (Mark 13:37)
Some items of possibly related interest may include:
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.
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 a related video: Gaza and Palestine in Prophecy.
Damascus and Syria in Prophecy Will Bashar Assad hold power as he has it? Does the Bible show that Damascus, the capital of Syria, will be destroyed? What will happen to Syria? Will the Syrians support the final King of the South that the Bible tells will rise up? Which scriptures discuss the rise and fall of an Arabic confederation? Does Islamic prophecy predict the destruction of Syria. This is a YouTube video.
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 ? 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 Arab and Islamic 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? What about the Imam Mahdi? What lies ahead for Turkey, Iran, and the other non-Arabic Muslims? An item of possibly related interest in the Spanish language would be: Líderes iraníes condenan la hipocresía de Occidente y declaran que ahora es tiempo para prepararse para el Armagedón, la guerra, y el Imán Mahdi.
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