WAR: Coming Soon To The Middle East - Preparations Underway

Recently, the news of war in the Middle East are widespread and frequent - bringing the issue of war imminent on a daily basis. War appears to be very very close as preparations increase while the alignment of nations brings both Isaiah 17 and Ezekiel 38-39 to the forefront.

In fact, reading the daily news (particularly today's news) - and aligning the evolving scenarios unfolding in the Middle East today with biblical prophecy is nothing short of astonishing.

Iranian Mouthpiece Media Calls On Syria To Attack Israel

Many of us have seen the Isaiah 17 scenario as a proxy war - engineered by the axis of Iran and Russia. The article below seems to bolster that view:

Syrian President Bashar Assad should attack Israel, says an Iranian newspaper considered the mouthpiece of the Supreme Leader.

Iran is concerned that the fall of Assad's regime will cost the Islamic Republic its closest ally and could ignite anti-Syrian elements in Lebanon, base of the Iranian-funded Hizbullah terrorist organization and political party.

The Kayhan newspaper, which operates directly under the supervision of the Islamic Supreme Leader of Iran, wrote last week that Assad has every reason to strike Israel because of Israel’s alleged responsibility for the bombing in Damascus, which killed several of Assad’s’ top military officers.

The newspaper’s call for war cannot be taken lightly. Kayhan “offers insight into the most extreme views of Iran’s leaders and into the mind-set and plans of those who are at the center of power,” according to New York Times correspondent Michael Slackman.

RightSideNews reported that an editorial in the Iranian newspaper offered Assad two options – a limited war to “liberate part of the occupied Syrian territories" or a "comprehensive war of no set duration" against a supposed alliance headed by Israel.

The newspaper foresees “a joint war by Syria, Iran, Hizbullah and others against the Zionist regime.”

“It is patently clear that Israel is currently totally unprepared for military confrontation – on the contrary, the worst possible scenario for it right now would be a confrontation with Syria,” Kayhan wrote.

“Such a confrontation would turn the atmosphere in the region against the Zionist regime, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, and against the entire American-Zionist front – thus unifying the resistance front and making it operational.”

Iran Prepping Proxies For War

Iran in recent days sent a series of missile and rocket convoys to the Islamic Jihad terrorist group in the Gaza Strip, a senior Egyptian security official told WND

The official said the increased weapons flow to Gaza is seen as part of a wider Iranian strategy to prepare for the possibility of a war involving Syria, with particular concern about the prospect of a future Turkish or NATO confrontation with Damascus.

FM: WMD Transfer To Hezbollah Is "Justification For War"

The transfer of chemical weapons from Syria to Hezbollah is a clear casus belli, and Israel will act "decisively and without hesitation or restraint," Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman said Tuesday.

Speaking at a press conference at the EU-Israel Association Council meeting in Brussels, Liberman said this would be "a completely different ballgame, and we hope for the understanding and cooperation of the international community.

Regarding Iran, Liberman said that after three rounds of negotiations in Istanbul, Baghdad and Moscow, the time has come to draw some conclusions.

"We cannot negotiate forever," Liberman said. "The time will come when negotiations must end and action must begin. We have patience, we are waiting, we are anxiously monitoring these talks, but we also hope to see substantial results."

Mofaz Hints, Again, Iran Strike Imminent

Imminent?

Kadima chairman Shaul Mofaz hinted Tuesday, for the second time in 24 hours, that an Israeli strike on Iran is imminent. Mofaz was Deputy Prime Minister and a member of the inner security cabinet until a few days ago, and therefore was in a position to know if such a strike is indeed impending.

Is this scenario the real reason for the split between Kadima and Likud?

Mofaz contented himself with heavily hinting that he was referring to plans for an imminent Iran strike, "which are kept under wraps," he explained. He made it clear that he opposes such a strike: "I think any attack is premature, for all intents and purposes, before we have exhausted the existing possibilities."

Could Russia Send Missiles To Iran?

Analysts believe that if the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad were to fall, Russian, which has been a close ally to Assad, may reconsider its denial of S-300 anti-aircraft missiles to Iran.

If Assad were to fall, there are increasing indications that Moscow would supply the S-300s to Iran.

“If the Syrian regime is changed by force, or if Russia doesn’t like the outcome, it most likely will respond by selling the S-300s to Iran,” said Rusian Pukhov, director of the think-tank Center for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies in Moscow. He’s also on the Defense Ministry advisory board.

Iran now is concerned that Israel, the U.S., or both, may decide to launch military action against its nuclear sites, since repeated discussions and diplomacy have just about run their course.

Meanwhile, Russia has vetoed all Security Council resolutions that call for harsher sanctions against Iran and undoubtedly would oppose any effort to call for military action.

"Israel Will Stop" Threat Of Syrian Chemical Weapons, Peres Warns

President Shimon Peres on Monday condemned Syrian government statements that it would deploy chemical weaponsin the event of a foreign invasion, and said Israel would do whatever it takes to eliminate the threat these weapons pose to the Jewish state.

“Use of chemical weapons is internationally forbidden,” he said in a CNN interview with Elise Labott. “We shall not remain indifferent and tell them, ‘Do what you want.’”

Asked how far Israel was prepared to go to prevent Syrian chemical weapons from being used or transferred to terrorist organizations, Israel’s octogenarian leader replied, “Until it will stop being a danger.”

Asked about the Burgas attack in which five Israelis were killed and dozens more were injured, Peres reiterated Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s accusation that Iran and Hezbollah stood behind the suspected suicide bombing. He asserted that there was enough hard evidence to implicate Iran and its proxy Hezbollah in the terrorist attack.

“It’s an open war of Iran against Israel” and more attacks are being planned against Israeli targets, Peres said.

Iran Returns Sanction Fight To Persian Gulf Shipping Lanes

As US Navy prepares to send minesweepers to Persian Gulf, Tehran again threatens to close Straits of Hormuz

When Pentagon officials announced plans to send US Navy minesweepers and warships into the Gulf for exercises, they carefully tried to avoid framing it as a direct show of force against Iran. Tehran took care of that.

Iranian commanders and political leaders — facing an increasing squeeze from international sanctions — have sharply stepped up threats and defiant statements in recent weeks over the Strait of Hormuz, a chokepoint at the mouth of the Gulf that is the route for one fifth of the world’s oil.

...the latest flurry from Tehran shows that Iranian authorities see the strait as perhaps their most valuable asset in brinksmanship over tightening sanctions and efforts to resume nuclear talks with world powers.

The US military maneuvers scheduled for September — to be joined by ships from about 20 American allies — are part of a Pentagon buildup in the Gulf with more troops and naval firepower seeking to rattle Iran and reassure Saudi Arabia and Washington’s other Gulf Arab partners worried about Iran’s influence and power.

Iran’s powerful Revolutionary Guards both scoffed and raged at the US-led war games, calling American naval power weak while also complaining that US should be pulling its forces out of the region rather than sending in reinforcements.

Adm. Ali Reza Tangsiri, acting commander of the Revolutionary Guard naval forces, claimed Iran has full military control over the strait — an unmistakable challenge to Washington and its Gulf allies.

IDF Chief: Attack In Syria May Lead To Broader Conflict

During a Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee debate Tuesday on the possibility of an Israeli attack on Syria's stockpiles of chemical weapons, IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Benny Gantz said the army may find it difficult to launch a "pinpoint" attack and warned that any other strike in Syria may drag the Jewish state into a broader regional conflict.

Addressing the civil war in Syria, the army chief said Iran and Hezbollah have provided substantial assistance to Assad's forces – including weapons

Gantz told the committee that Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime has boosted protection around its chemical weapons stockpiles and that the weapons have not landed in the hands of "negative elements" as of yet.

"But this situation may change," he stressed, "and then we will be faced with a dilemma."

Gantz said Israel must also consider "who will remain after we act and in whose hands (the weapons) will land."

Rebels: Assad Moved Chemical Weapons To Border

The Syrian government has moved chemical weapons to airports on its borders, the rebel Free Syrian Army said Tuesday, a day after the regime warned it could use them if attacked by an outside force.

"We in the joint command of the Free Syrian Army inside the country know very well the locations and positions of these weapons," a statement from the FSA said.

We also reveal that (President Bashar) Assad has transferred some of these weapons and equipment for mixing chemical components to airports on the border."

Also in the news (remember: "Big Crisis = Big Change"):

Eurozone Danger Mounts As Spain Spins Out Of Control

The yields on closely-watched two-year debt surged by 78 basis points to a modern-era high of 6.42pc, leaving it unclear how long the country can continue funding itself. Italy’s two-year yields vaulted to 4.6pc.

“We can’t keep going like this for another 15 days,” said Prof Miguel Angel Bernal from Madrid’s Institute of Market Studies. “The European Central Bank has to bring out its heavy artillery.”

The Spanish newspaper El Confidencial reported sources close to premier Mariano Rajoy complaining bitterly that the crisis engulfing Spain was a “failure of the whole European Project and the incompetence of its leaders”.

There is deep shock in government circles that the €65bn austerity package passed by the Spanish parliament last week amid bitter protests across the country – and imposed by the EU – has failed to make any difference.

Mr Jenkins said the fire must be contained before it reached the next big country, either by massive ECB intervention or full fiscal union. Germany is still blocking both. “The battle for Spain is already lost. The battle for Italy has begun,” he said.

Eurozone Crisis Worsens As Germany Warned On Top Rating

The euro-crisis is accelerating as Spanish borrowing costs continue rising and Germany, Netherlands and Luxembourg on Monday (23 July) were warned they may lose their triple A rating due to 'rising uncertainty.'

Moody's, one of the big three credit ratings agencies, said risks that Greece may quit the eurozone and an "increased likelihood" that Spain and Italy would need more financial assistance weighs down on the three top-rated countries, as Germany is the main contributor to the bailout pot.

Markets fell across the world on Monday and investors dumped European assets

Panels Call For Urgent Legislation To Prepare For Huge Quake

Saying Japan’s very survival is at stake, two advisory panels urged the government to take immediate action--including finding an alternative capital--to prepare for an earthquake that could devastate the Tokyo area.

The working groups are discussing measures to deal with massive quakes that could be triggered by movement along the Nankai Trough as well as one directly under the capital.

In an unusual move, the groups called on the government to pass legislation for the quake-preparedness measures even before estimating the number of fatalities and damage from such temblors.

"There is a need for the entire society to deal with the two quakes that are expected to cause extensive damage," according to interim reports released on July 19 by the two working groups, respectively.

The two working groups have yet to come up with their own damage estimates. But their recommendation for swift passage of legislation underscores their sense of urgency from not being able to pinpoint when such a destructive quake might hit.

In preparing for a crippling quake directly under Tokyo, the interim report proposes selecting beforehand alternative sites that could provide back-up for capital functions. Among the cities named as possible alternative capitals were Sapporo, Sendai, Nagoya, Osaka and Fukuoka.