Brink Of War: The Ayatollahs Find Themselves On The Chopping Block
Shalom from a nation which is once again on the brink of war! Another week has passed as Israel has remained in a holding pattern while other people posture over our fate. No matter what is decided between the United States and Iran, we will be affected. If America strikes, we will be drawn into the ensuing conflict. If President Trump settles for negotiations, then it will be left to Israel to do what’s necessary to protect ourselves against an Iranian assault. Undoubtedly, an Iran left restrained only by words and promises will eventually come against us. We will not sit back idly and wait for that to happen.
There is an irony to the timing of all of this. Next Monday evening will begin Purim, an annual reminder of how the Jews were threatened with annihilation by the evil Haman. But one woman, Queen Esther, risked her life exposing the plot, thereby saving her people. The term “Purim” refers not to the genocidal plans, but the lots that were cast to select the date. To Haman and the Persians, it was never about the many lives that would be lost. It was just the Jews, no big loss. Instead, they were more concerned about the proper timing for the slaughter so that it could be done right.
When the October 7 attack was planned, the same pattern of thought was followed. The question was never whether to massacre the Jews. That was a given. The strategic calculation revolved around timing and coordination. When Hamas launched early, the ayatollahs’ regime was not upset about the deaths and brutality. They were angry that their broader plan that involved many of their other proxy militias was undercut. In other words, they weren’t upset at how many had been killed, but at how few.
Now, 2,500 years after the events of the book of Esther, the Jews are alive and thriving. We survived the plans of ancient Persia carried out through Haman, and we survived the plans of modern Persia (Iran) carried out through Hamas. And now, it is the ayatollahs who find themselves on the chopping block. I am a man who can appreciate poetry, and there is a beautiful poetic justice at this turn of events.
War by the Weekend?
We are coming upon a critical weekend. Today, a third round of indirect talks between Iran and the United States in Geneva have already temporarily halted. Both sides say they want negotiations to work. I wouldn’t put money on it. Abbas Araghchi, foreign minister of Iran, said they will not give up their “peaceful” nuclear purposes. He went on to threaten the targeting of US bases in the region, “even if they are on the territory of Arab countries.”
On the American side, President Trump, in his State of the Union address, said he will never allow the world’s number one sponsor of terror to have a nuclear weapon. As US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee said, Iran is a threat to the US, not just to Israel. “Many Americans don’t think about it because Iran is thousands of miles away from them. But for 48 years Iran has brought death to America, killed thousands of Americans, and is working to build a global nuclear threat,” said the ambassador.
In the State of the Union, the president also demanded a limitation to Iran’s ballistic missile program. Currently, Tehran’s military has missiles that can reach Europe. Soon, their range will extend to the United States. When asked if President Trump sees Iran as a threat, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt responded, “Iran chants ‘Death to America’. You tell me if that’s a threat.” On Iran’s side, they’ve said that they will not even discuss ballistic missiles. They are totally off the table. To me, that sounds like an impasse.
That brings us to now. All of America’s needed forces have arrived in the area. Countries around the world have pulled their people from Iran. Tehran is rapidly loading their oil into tankers at a clip three times quicker than this time last month. For the past five days, protesters are back out in Iranian universities in the tens of thousands, calling out “Death to the Dictator!” The time for the ayatollahs’ stall tactics is coming to an end. When today’s Geneva talks collapse, as they inevitably will, is that the moment that Trump will finally pull the trigger?
This is a time for prayer, my friends. Pray for wisdom in Washington and a reality check in Tehran. Pray for the US military stationed in bases around the Middle East. Pray for those of us in Israel, because thousands of Iran’s missiles are pointed at us. Pray for the Iranian people who desperately want this Islamic regime gone and who, once more, may become innocent victims of the ayatollahs’ sins.
No comments:
Post a Comment