Iran says the deal to end the war with the US requires Israel to withdraw from Lebanon

Iran says the deal to end the war with the US requires Israel to withdraw from Lebanon 

JON GAMBRELL,

 Iran's top diplomat said Tuesday that the tentative deal to end the war with the United States would require Israel to withdraw from Lebanon — a condition Israel has already rejected and that could sink the agreement, leading to the resumption of all-out war.

The deal, which is between the U.S. and Iran, has not been made public, and officials have sometimes offered contradictory interpretations of what is in it. While Israel is not party to the agreement, it is part of the war after joining the U.S. in launching strikes on Iran on Feb. 28. Israel has also fought the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon and seized large swaths of that country.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Israel's continued occupation of southern Lebanon would violate the deal.

"Without the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the territories they occupied during this war, the war has not fully come to an end," Araghchi said.

A U.S. official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss outlines of the agreement, has said the deal does not call for an Israeli withdrawal. And Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that Israel would remain in Lebanon "as long as necessary."

The negotiations to end the war have been plagued by such disagreements before, leading to a prolonged but uneasy ceasefire that has failed to develop into a permanent end to hostilities and has left the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial waterway for the world's energy supplies, effectively shut.

In other developments, Switzerland's foreign ministry said the signing ceremony for the deal will take place Friday at the Bürgenstock resort near the city of Luzern. Ministry officials said Tuesday that the location was proposed by Pakistani and Qatari mediators, along with the U.S. and Iran.

Pakistan has said the deal called for an end to military operations, including in Lebanon, as Iran long insisted. But Araghchi's call for an Israeli withdrawal adds a new wrinkle.

It puts Israel into a dilemma as it tries to degrade Hezbollah's military capabilities without undermining an agreement championed by its most important ally, the United States. Israel invaded southern Lebanon after Hezbollah fired missiles across the border during the first week of the war. Since then, it has expanded its military footprint to levels unseen in decades and struck targets deep inside Beirut.

Though Hezbollah has been weakened, it retains the ability to strike Israel, leaving open questions about the effectiveness of Israel's campaign.

As of Tuesday evening, Netanyahu had not seen the memorandum of understanding between the U.S. and Iran, said a person familiar with the situation, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss closed-door details. Another person, who also spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations between Israel and the U.S., said Israeli officials have not asked U.S. negotiators for the memorandum.

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Stress on San Andreas Fault reaches highest levels in 1,000 years as scientists await next ‘major rupture’

Stress on San Andreas Fault reaches highest levels in 1,000 years as scientists await next ‘major rupture’

JOHN ROSS FERRARA

 The San Andreas Fault and San Jacinto Fault Zone have reached their highest stress levels in 1,000 years, according to a study by researchers at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, leading scientists to wonder when California’s next “Big One” will occur.

The fault lines have reached “unprecedented levels” of stress, according to the study, which was recently published in Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth. The study suggests that stress normally released in large earthquakes has continued to build as 160 years have passed since the last “major rupture.”

The study’s lead author, Liliane Burkhard, said the fault system is in a “critically loaded state.”

“Our results show that stress levels on multiple fault segments are now at or above the highest values seen in the past millennium and that the region may be capable of a large through-going rupture involving both fault systems,” Burkhard said. 

The study also found that the Cajon Pass in Southern California may act as an “earthquake gate,” which can sometimes block large earthquakes from striking along the San Andreas Fault and San Jacinto Fault Zone at the same time. However, the Cajon Pass could also “facilitate a joint rupture,” the study states. An earthquake simultaneously striking both fault lines would be “significantly more damaging” and affect highly populated areas of Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Riverside and the Coachella Valley, according to the study.

“This is not a prediction of when an earthquake will happen,” Burkhard said. “However, studies like this are important contributions to national and global earthquake hazard research in that we are using rigorous, quantitative science to better understand the risk facing millions of people. What we can say is that the system is critically stressed, and that physics-based models like this one give us a clearer picture of the range of scenarios we should be prepared for. That information matters for hazard assessments, infrastructure planning, and emergency preparedness.”

Trump, Iran, And Israel’s Place In Future Bible Prophecy

Trump, Iran, And Israel’s Place In Future Bible Prophecy

Jonathan Brentner

It’s clear that God has used the president to aid and defend Israel. I believe that’s why the Lord kept him safe from the assassins’ bullets in 2024. But his claim of responsibility for Israel’s survival not only assigns undue credit to himself, but it also displays ignorance of Bible prophecy.

Let’s first tackle the matter of Israel’s place in the end times. Trump’s spiritual advisor, Paula White, adheres to a belief whereby the church brings in the golden age of the millennium. This teaching regards Israel’s 1948 reemergence as a nation as a fluke of history; as such, Israel is no different than any other country in the world. The Bible, however, reveals a much different picture of the future where Jesus, not the church, rules for a thousand years over the nations. Scripture also reveals the prominent place of Israel in His worldwide kingdom.

Although God has used Trump to advance His sovereign agenda in regard to Israel, He remains in total control of all that happens to the nation between now and the end of the Tribulation period. His purposes do not rest with any human ruler. Not only that, not even the antichrist with his brief acquisition of great power will be able to stop God’s purposes for the Jewish people.

The president’s usurping of glory due to the Lord is another matter. Trump doesn’t understand his role as God’s instrument in supporting Israel. Babe Ruth used a bat in hitting home runs that led to his great acclaim in the history of baseball, yet no one credits his bat with his ability to hit the ball so far.

A similar shortsightedness lies behind Trump’s insistence that ceasefires will lead to peace in the region. His failure to recognize Israel’s uniqueness in Bible prophecy blinds him to both the spiritual forces behind the Middle East wars and the demonic nature of Islam. It’s most definitely not a “religion of peace” but rather a political ideology that honors lying and killing as the means to further its quest for world domination.

As I wrote in last week’s Nearing Midnight, what we see today is a replay of what happened during the days of Queen Esther and Mordecai. Satan is the driving force behind Iran’s determination to destroy Israel, which will continue unabated until the end of the Gog and Magog war, when the Lord destroys the Persian forces and brings judgment to the nation. After that, the devil will continue his deadly campaign against the Jewish people until the end of the seven-year Tribulation.

Because the battle is primarily spiritual, ceasefires will only prolong the wars rather than bring any lengthy cessation of conflict in the region. This awareness led to my frustration with President Trump when he demanded that Israel not retaliate in response to Iran’s missile attack last weekend. His message conveyed an equivalence with Israel and Iran that ignores the entire history of the conflict as well as the Word of God. His apparent trust in Iran’s leaders to make a deal and stick to it is totally unwarranted.

I do not know what will happen in the coming days, weeks, and months in the war between Israel and Iran. But with history as our guide, we know that Iran will not give up on its desire to acquire nuclear weapons nor its desire to destroy Israel. With Scripture as our guide, we know the Persian state’s desire to inflict as much terror as possible on the Jewish state will not end until the Lord destroys it.

What I do know is that all we are seeing today, including President Trump’s belief that he can bring lasting peace to the region with a deal that will somehow allow him to declare victory over Iran, is bringing us closer to the time when we will meet Jesus in the air. Both the headlines we read and all the things hidden from our sight are furthering the Lord’s agenda for Israel’s future.

God will continue to use human rulers to serve His purposes, but make no mistake, He will finish His purposes for the Jewish people and Jerusalem, as He decreed in Daniel 9:24: “Seventy weeks are decreed about your people and your holy city, to finish the transgression, to put an end to sin, and to atone for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness, to seal both vision and prophet, and to anoint a most holy place.”

How do we know the Lord didn’t accomplish all these things in the past? The key event in the seventieth week has never happened in all of history since He spoke these words. As a result, we can be very certain of this: Just as the Jewish people and the city of Jerusalem played a key role in the fulfillment of the initial aspects of His promise, so they will do so in the inauguration of Jesus’ kingdom in which He will bless the world with a reign of righteousness that will never end.

It’s so easy to become dismayed at the daily flow of news regarding the Middle East conflict- well, at least for me it is. Bible prophecy, however, calms my heart as it reminds me that God is ultimately in control. It’s totally impossible for any ruler (even the future antichrist), peace deal favoring Iran at Israel’s expense, or future war to deter His plan to bless Israel with a gloriously restored kingdom, during which time we will reign with our Savior.

UK’s Social Media Ban: The Monumental Pretext For Total Digital Surveillance

UK’s Social Media Ban: The Monumental Pretext For Total Digital Surveillance

Steve Watson

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s announcement of a social media ban for under-16s represents one of the most sweeping advances of the surveillance state in modern British history. 

Framed as “giving children their childhoods back,” the policy demands that big tech implement mandatory age verification across major platforms. In reality it forces every adult in the UK to surrender identity documents, facial scans, passports or credit card details simply to post, scroll or communicate online. 

What begins as a restriction on minors quickly becomes a national digital ID regime, device-level monitoring on every phone and tablet, and the effective end of anonymous speech. 

The move builds directly on years of incremental power grabs and aligns with identical efforts now rolling out in Canada, Australia and the EU. It ignores the government’s own evidence of no causal harm from social media while accelerating the very infrastructure that hands the state permanent visibility into private lives. 

This is not reform. It is the construction of a permissioned internet where access itself requires state-approved identity.

The scale is breathtaking. Age verification will not stop at one app. It will require systems capable of checking every user on Snapchat, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and X. 

Additional rules turn off livestreaming and stranger communication by defaultfor under-18s on gaming platforms, and impose overnight curfews plus infinite-scroll ‘breaks’ for under-18s. 

All of this rests on powers from the draconian Online Safety Act and the Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Act. The government wants regulations in place before Christmas 2026 and full enforcement by April 2027. 

The same government has a documented record of failing to protect children from grooming gangs, ideological capture in schools and rushed medical interventions. Now it claims only it can decide what counts as safe online.

Starmer insists innovators can simply “devise ways to protect our children” and that world leaders must act. The community note attached to his announcement highlights the absence of proof that the measures will deliver the promised benefits. 

Critics across platforms immediately pointed out the real target: control.

Big tech’s public statements reveal both resistance and their own power plays. YouTube warned that blanket bans push young people toward anonymous, less safe services and away from curated, educational content that parents and educators value. 

Meta went further, arguing that people should not be forced to hand over ID to dozens of separate services. The company instead floated device-level age checks at the operating system level so one verification could serve multiple apps. 

Meanwhile, an apparent exemption for BlueSky exposes the political character of the entire project. While mainstream platforms face mandatory age gates and identity checks, the left-leaning network popular with progressive activists, and containing open communities of “minor attracted persons,” appears set to escape the same restrictions. 

Multiple observers described the carve-out as a deliberate political decision rather than a technical oversight. The platform’s documented issues with extreme content and grooming-adjacent spaces make the selective enforcement even more glaring. 

If the goal were truly uniform child protection, no major service would receive special treatment. The exception instead suggests the rules will be applied most rigorously against platforms that host dissenting or non-progressive voices.

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The Peace With Iran May Have Unexpectedly Opened The Door To Ezekiel 38

The Peace With Iran May Have Unexpectedly Opened The Door To Ezekiel 38

 PNW STAFF

For much of the past year, Israel has achieved what many believed was impossible.

It has battered Iran's military infrastructure. It has weakened Hezbollah. It has struck deep into Iranian territory. It has demonstrated intelligence and military capabilities that few nations on earth can match. Even many of Israel's critics would acknowledge that the Jewish state emerged from this conflict having inflicted tremendous damage on its enemies.

And yet, despite all those battlefield victories, Israel now finds itself confronting a strategic paradox.

It may have won the war, only to discover that the peace is far more dangerous.

The emerging U.S.-Iran agreement championed by President Trump has been met with widespread skepticism and outright hostility across much of Israel's political spectrum. Israeli media outlets, opposition leaders, security analysts, and even members of Netanyahu's own coalition have criticized the agreement as one that leaves many of the core threats facing Israel unresolved. 

Reports indicate that key issues such as Iran's missile arsenal, support for regional proxy groups, and aspects of its nuclear program may remain outside the scope of the current negotiations.

That is the heart of Israel's dilemma.

Iran has been weakened, but not defeated.

Its military capabilities have been degraded, but not eliminated.

Its missile stockpiles remain significant. Its drone capabilities remain intact. Its proxy network has been damaged but not dismantled.

Hezbollah is perhaps the clearest example. Israel has succeeded in pushing the terror organization farther away from its northern border and has dramatically reduced its operational freedom. Yet Hezbollah still exists. Its leadership structure remains. Its fighters remain. Its ideology certainly remains. Even today, Israeli leaders insist that they will retain freedom of action in Lebanon because they do not trust that the threat has disappeared.

From a military perspective, Israel achieved much.

From a strategic perspective, the outcome is far murkier.

The deeper concern emerging in Jerusalem is not simply the agreement itself but what it reveals about the future of U.S.-Israel relations regarding Iran.

For years, Israeli governments operated under the assumption that they could influence American policy through Congress, public opinion, and longstanding alliances in Washington. During the Obama years, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu openly challenged the White House over the Iran nuclear deal. He addressed Congress. He mobilized supporters. He fought publicly against policies he believed endangered Israel.

Today the situation is very different.

President Trump remains enormously influential within both the Republican Party and among evangelical Christians who have traditionally been some of Israel's strongest supporters. Yet Trump's priorities are increasingly centered on American economic interests, energy stability, avoiding prolonged wars, and securing diplomatic agreements that can reduce regional instability.

Those priorities do not always align perfectly with Israel's security calculations.

 Israeli analysts increasingly fear that once the agreement is signed on Friday, any future Israeli military action against Iran could be viewed in Washington as an effort to sabotage American diplomacy.

That reality leaves Israel with fewer options than it has enjoyed in decades.

Ironically, Netanyahu may find that challenging Obama was easier than navigating Trump.

Obama could be opposed publicly.

Trump is far more difficult to confront because many of Israel's traditional allies in Washington are reluctant to challenge him directly. Even strong pro-Israel voices appear cautious about publicly criticizing the president's approach.

Meanwhile, Iran may emerge from this arrangement with substantial economic relief while surrendering relatively little of its long-term strategic position. If sanctions are eased, investments resume, and trade routes reopen, Tehran could gain valuable breathing room to rebuild capabilities over time. Critics inside Israel fear exactly that outcome.

This is why many Israelis are viewing the agreement not as the culmination of victory but as the beginning of a new and uncertain chapter.

Yet for Christians who study Bible prophecy, there is another layer to this story.

The book of Ezekiel describes a future scenario in which Persia—modern-day Iran—again emerges as part of a coalition that ultimately moves against Israel. The remarkable aspect of Ezekiel 38 and 39 is not merely that Israel faces overwhelming threats. It is that God repeatedly emphasizes that He Himself intervenes to save His people.

Not America.

Not NATO.

Not military alliances.

God.

That does not diminish the importance of the U.S.-Israel relationship. The United States remains Israel's most important ally and the partnership has produced enormous benefits for both nations.

But Scripture reminds us that Israel's ultimate security has never rested in Washington, London, or any earthly capital.

Perhaps that is one of the lessons emerging from today's events.

The war exposed a growing gap between America and Israel regarding how to handle Iran. It demonstrated the limits of Israeli influence over U.S. decision-making. It revealed how quickly geopolitical priorities can shift.

Most importantly, it showed once again that no alliance is permanent and no political arrangement is guaranteed.

And if Ezekiel is correct, the next confrontation with Iran may arrive under very different circumstances—with Israel discovering that the ally it once relied upon is no longer willing to fight the same battle.

That is why the ultimate lesson of this moment is not about military power, diplomacy, or oil prices.

It is about where Israel places its trust when the next crisis comes.