Evening Update: Iran - 'Thousands Of Missiles' To Rain On Israel

The rhetoric coming from Syria and Iran, as directed towards Israel, is increasing by the day and this afternoon it has gone to a new level. It is interesting how a U.S. strike on Syria has now morphed into an attack on Israel by Iran and Syria with Russia (for now) lurking in the background.

Another thought: We are looking at a classic example of "wars and rumors of war" that Jesus warned us about:

Iran: 'Thousands Of Missiles' To Rain On Israel

Iran is threatening to launch a massive missile strike against Israel if the United States attacks Syria for using chemical weapons against its own people, which could touch off a full-blown war in the region.

“The day of reckoning is near,” according to Hossein Shariatmadari, the chief editor of Keyhan newspaper, an outlet controlled by Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Iran has long drawn a red line around the Assad regime. And Hezbollah fighters in Lebanon, Israel’s neighbor, are armed with thousands of missiles. The three members of the Resistance Front have a joint war room.

“Because of the failure of the intended proxy war, America and some Arab and European countries are preparing to attack Syria on the false claims that the Assad regime has used chemical weapons,” the editor said. “However, America can certainly start the war but it won’t be the one to end it.”

Shariatmadari said that Israel is the “Achilles’ heel of America and its European allies and without a doubt with the start of an attack on Syria, thousands of missiles will rain down all over the occupied lands (Israel), which will destroy its critical facilities as it was obvious that its missile defense system (the Iron Dome) could not prevent missiles reaching Tel Aviv.”

“Muslims should welcome the news of an attack on Syria as it will provide the long-awaited opportunity for revenge, which should destroy the enemies of Islam,” Shariatmadari concluded.

Defiant Syrian PM: We Will Attack Foreign Aggressors Like In Yom Kippur War

Syrian Prime Minister Wael al-Halqi on Wednesday warned against foreign military action taken on his country asserting that Syria would become a "graveyard of invaders" AFP reported.

Al-Halqi accused Western powers of creating pretexts to strike the Damascus regime, adding that Syria will "surprise the aggressors as it surprised them in" the Yom Kippur War in 1973, when Arab states launched a surprise attack on Israel.

Forces loyal to Assad's government appear to have evacuated most personnel from army and security command headquarters in central Damascus in preparation for a possible strike, residents and opposition sources said on Wednesday.

United Nations chemical weapons experts completed a second field trip to rebel-held suburbs, looking for evidence of what - and who - caused an apparent poison gas attack that residents say killed hundreds of people a week ago.

But as UN chief Ban Ki-moon appealed for unity among world powers and sought more time for the inspectors to complete their work, Washington and its European and Middle East allies said their minds were made up and Assad must face retribution for using banned weapons against his people.

Syria's government, supported notably by its main arms supplier Russia, cried foul. It blamed rebel "terrorists" for releasing the toxins with the help of the United States, Britain and France and warned it would be a "graveyard of invaders".

Iran Army Chief Warns 'Zionists Will Burn' If U.S. Attacks Syria

Amid increasingly hostile threats from Syria and Iran that Israel will be attacked if the US carries out an anticipated punitive strike against the regime of President Bashar Assad for its chemical weapons use, Israel  reportedly sent messages to Damascus via third parties Wednesday warning Assad that any attack will be met with a forceful IDF response.

Iran’s leaders also issued warnings Wednesday to the United States over military intervention against their Syrian ally.

Iran’s chief of staff Hassan Firouzabadi was quoted by Israel’s Channel 2 Wednesday declaring that “if the US attacks, the Zionists will burn,” and an Iranian journalist said to be close to Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei reportedly warned that Israel would “face tens of thousands of missiles.”

Taleb Ibrahim, a Syrian analyst, warned on state television that an American strike would prompt a three-front attack on Israel — by Syria, Iran and Hezbollah. A second Syrian television commentator, meanwhile, was quoted saying that “the land [of Israel] will tremble.”

On Tuesday night, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon, and IDF Chief of General Staff Benny Gantz all publicly warned Assad not to tangle with Israel. Those public statements were reinforced by private messages, conveyed via third parties, Channel 2 reported Wednesday night. The US-led strike is not expected to be so extensive as to bring down Assad, whereas if Israel is hit,military sources have said in recent days, its response could well spell the demise of the Assad regime.

 Israel on Wednesday began calling up about 1,000 reservists, and deploying anti-missile systems in the north. Iron Dome batteries also remain in Eilat and close to Gaza, should rocket fire emanate from the Sinai or the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. Haifa’s Mayor Yona Yahav was briefed Wednesday by Home Front Command authorities and told to ensure that bomb shelters in the city were in good order. Israel is expected to be given several hours’ advance notice of an American-led strike.

Syria Asks UN To Immediately Investigate Three New 'Chemical Attacks' By Rebels

The Syrian government is demanding that the United Nations immediately investigate three alleged chemical attacks carried out by rebel groups on the outskirts of Damascus last week, Syria’s envoy to the UN said.

Ambassador Bashar Jaafari said he had requested UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon that the team of experts currently in Damascus investigating an alleged use of chemical weapons last week also investigate these other attacks. 

The attacks took place on August 22, 24 and 25 in Jobar, Sahnaya, and al-Bahariya, Bashar Jaafari told journalists Wednesday. The “militants” used toxic chemical gas against the Syrian army, the diplomat said. 

"We are asking UN to incorporate 3 more locations where the Syrian soldiers inhaled the nerve gas also in the suburbs of Damascus. So the spectrum of investigation is increasing compared to the initial phase of investigation," Jaafari said. 

U.S.: NATO Allies Dismiss UN On March Toward Syria

The United States, Britain and France will proceed with action in Syria without approval from the United Nations, the US said on Wednesday, after a short but tense afternoon brought NATO allies in direct conflict with Russian obstruction over how to respond to the mass use of chemical weapons.

Britain submitted language for a resolution on Wednesday to the UN Security Council, but ultimately failed to gain consensus on a draft, leaving Western allies with "no choice" but to proceed with a response circumventing the international body.

The permanent five members of the UN Security Council held an emergency meeting on Wednesday morning to discuss the draft, at which the UK Permanent Representative Mark Lyall Grant presented language condemning "the attack by the Assad regime, and authorizing all necessary measure under Chapter seven of the UN Charter to protect civilians from chemical weapons."

Citing Russian Logjam, U.S. Says It Will Act On Syria Without UN Green Light

Pending U.S. Financial Collapse

A record breaking stock market is distorting a frightening reality:  The U.S. is being eaten alive by a horrific cancer that will ultimately destroy the economy and impoverish the vast majority of its citizens.

That's according to Peter Schiff, the best-selling author and CEO of Euro Pacific Capital, who delivered his harsh warning to investors in a recent interview on Fox Business.

"I think we are heading for a worse economic crisis than we had in 2007," Schiff said.  "You're going to have a collapse in the dollar...a huge spike in interest rates... and our whole economy, which is built on the foundation of cheap money, is going to topple when you pull the rug out from under it."

Schiff says that, despite "phony" signs of an economic recovery, the cancer destroying America stems from a lethal concoction of our $16 trillion federal debt and the Fed's never ending money printing.

Currently, Bernanke and company is buying $1 trillion of Treasury and mortgage bonds a year. That's about $85 billion per month against a budget deficit that is about the same level.

According to Schiff, these numbers are unsustainable. And the Fed has no credible "exit strategy."

"The crisis is imminent," Schiff said.  "I don't think Obama is going to finish his second term without the bottom dropping out. And stock market investors are oblivious to the problems."

 "We're broke, Schiff added.  "We owe trillions. Look at our budget deficit; look at the debt to GDP ratio, the unfunded liabilities. If we were in the Eurozone, they would kick us out."

Schiff points out that the market gains experienced recently, with the Dow first topping 14,000 on its way to setting record highs, are giving investors a false sense of security.  

"It's not that the stock market is gaining value... it's that our money is losing value. And so if you have a debased currency... a devalued currency, the price of everything goes up. Stocks are no exception," he said.

"The Fed knows that the U.S. economy is not recovering," he noted. "It simply is being kept from collapse by artificially low interest rates and quantitative easing. As that support goes, the economy will implode."

Schiff estimates this "cancer" could consume a trillion dollars from consumers this year.

"Today we're the world's greatest debtor nation. Companies, homeowners and banks are so highly leveraged, rising interest rates will be devastating."

According to polls, the average American is indeed sensing danger. A recent survey found that 61% of Americans believe a catastrophe is looming - yet only 15% feel prepared for such a deeply troubling event.