MidnightWatcher – Prophecy in Motion

“May 18 (Reuters) – Thousands of Iranians rallied on Friday against plans for union between Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, state television showed, and an influential cleric denounced the idea as an ‘ill-fated plot’ that will never be tolerated by Muslims.

Tension between Iran and U.S.-allied Gulf Arab states has run high in recent months with Arab leaders accusing Tehran of fomenting Shi’ite Muslim unrest in Bahrain – a charge that Shi’ite Iran and the protesters deny.

The dispute worsened when Tehran denounced efforts by six Gulf Arab states at a summit earlier this week to forge closer political and military union, largely to counter Iran’s growing regional power. The talks ended inconclusively.

In the run-up to the Riyadh meeting, speculation was rife that an initial union would be announced between Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, where anti-government protests led by majority Shi’ites have gripped the island state since last year.

‘This plot is an ill-fated plot that is taking place with the American and Zionist (Israeli) green light but they should know that the people of Bahrain and the region, Muslims around the world and in Iran will never tolerate it,’ cleric Kazem Sediqi said in a Friday sermon broadcast live on state radio.

Iranian state television aired footage of thousands of people holding rallies around the country and chanting slogans against the ruling royal families in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia to protest against the proposed Manama-Riyadh union.” Read more.

Flashback: Walid Shoebat: Iran To Obtain Nuclear Weapons, Will Destroy Saudi Arabia – “… if you look at the Bible, remember, the Harlot is destroyed by two entities. By … the hand of My people, Israel, and then you have in Isaiah 21, Arise O Elam to destroy what? Arabia. Elam is Iran. Persia will destroy Arabia. I believe Arabia is the Harlot of Babylon. If you look at the Bible — when you read Babylon in the Bible — all the names of the cities, entities, regions within those [areas of] Babylon in the Bible, you will never find any ancient name of any Babylonian city … Every single vicinity [mentioned in Isaiah 21] is in Arabia. The burden against Dumah. Dumah is in Arabia… Dedan, Kedar, those are all in Arabia. It’s born from Babylon. That’s why it’s called the daughter of Babylon. We need to focus on Saudi Arabia because it is mentioned heavily in the Bible.”

By Michael Stott – “(Reuters) – A private door opens from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office in central Jerusalem directly into a long, modestly furnished, half-paneled room decorated with modern paintings by Israeli artists and a copy of Israel’s 1948 declaration of independence. It contains little more than a long wooden table, brown leather chairs and a single old-fashioned white projector screen.

This inner sanctum at the end of a corridor between Netanyahu’s private room and the office of his top military adviser, is where one of the decade’s most momentous military decisions could soon be taken: to launch an Israeli attack on Iran’s nuclear program.

Time for that decision is fast running out and the mood in Jerusalem is hardening.

Iran continues to enrich uranium in defiance of international pressure, saying it needs the fuel for its civilian nuclear program. The West is convinced that Tehran’s real objective is to build an atomic bomb – something which the Jewish state will never accept because its leaders consider a nuclear armed-Iran a threat to its very existence.

Adding to the international pressure, U.S. ambassador to Israel Daniel Shapiro said this week American military plans to strike Iran were ‘ready’ and the option was ‘fully available’.

The central role Iran plays in Netanyahu’s deliberations is reflected in the huge map of the Middle East hanging by the door of his office. Israel lies on one edge, with Iran taking pride of place in the centre.

Experts say that within a few months, much of Iran’s nuclear program will have been moved deep underground beneath the Fordow mountain, making a successful military strike much more difficult.” Read more.

Flashback: Former Ambassador John Bolton: Iran May Be Much Closer to a Nuclear Bomb Than the World Realizes – “A report that Iran is about a year away from having the capability to build a nuclear bomb may be too optimistic, contended John Bolton, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. ‘I worry the publicly available information is giving only a very small picture and that Iran is actually even much further along,’ Bolton said today in a radio interview… Reacting to the one-year timeline, Bolton stated, ‘I think it can be even less than that.’” Read more.

Joel 3:1-2, 11-12, “For behold, in those days and at that time, when I bring back the captives of Judah and Jerusalem, I will also gather all nations, and bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat; And I will enter into judgment with them there on account of My people, My heritage Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations; They have also divided up My land… Hasten and come, all you surrounding nations, And gather yourselves there. Bring down, O LORD, Your mighty ones. Let the nations be aroused and come up to the valley of Jehoshaphat, for there I will sit to judge all the surrounding nations.”

As numerous scholars and historians will attest, by the time Jerusalem and the temple were destroyed in 70 AD the Roman Legions responsible for the destruction were dominated by eastern peoples from Syria, Egypt, Asia Minor (Turkey) and that general area. Even though they were considered Roman citizens, all those who “scattered [the Jews] among the nations” and divided up God’s land for gain according to Joel 3:2 were Middle Eastern. Today, they are Muslim nations.

Following the destruction of 70 AD, the Jewish people were dispersed and exiled into captivity again for over 1800 years. In 1948, however, God began restoring the nation of Israel after 2/3 of all Jews in Europe were killed during the Holocaust of WWII. But, as before, the very same peoples that surrounded the tiny new Jewish State of Israel wanted nothing more than to eradicate the Jews and divide the land for gain. Unfortunately for the surrounding nations, however, this time the Jews of Israel are not going anywhere. After God brought His people back to the land again the second time the Prophet Joel tells us that He would also then gather the surrounding nations for judgment “on account of My people, My heritage Israel” who would never again be uprooted and scattered. And no matter how hard the Islamic nations surrounding Israel today fight to “liberate” the land and eliminate the Jews, when God makes a promise, it’s a promise He intends to keep …

Amos 9:14-15, “… I will bring my people Israel back from exile. ‘They will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them. They will plant vineyards and drink their wine; they will make gardens and eat their fruit. I will plant Israel in their own land, never again to be uprooted from the land I have given them,’ says the LORD your God.”

By Elad Benari, INN – “An Iranian official called this week for an ‘Islamic Awakening’ movement to help Palestinian Authority Arabs ‘demolish the Zionist regime’, the IRNA news agency reported.

The comments were made at a conference in Tehran in honor of Nakba Day – the day of catastrophe – which is what the Arabs call the English date of May 15, when the State of Israel was re-established with a declaration of independence in 1948.

In a brief address at the end of the conference, the official, Hossein Shiekholeslam said, ‘In success of a revolution three major factors need to play effective roles, and they are the people, the leadership, and the school of thought, or ideology.’

He added, ‘If we wish success for the Palestinians, the existence of these three factors is necessary, as they did exist in the case of the victory of the Islamic Revolution of Iran.’

Sheikholeslam said that ‘In near future the Islamic Awakening movement would also swallow the Zionist regime.’

The first speaker at the conference, according to IRNA, was the PA Ambassador in Tehran, Salah Zawawi, who said that the one and only way to soothe the Arabs’ pains and agony is the annihilation of the Zionist regime.” Read more.

Flashback: Iran is Determined to Eradicate the ‘Infectious Tumor’ of Israel, ‘Will Never Withdraw’ From This Policy – “Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said that Iran was determined to eradicate Israel, ISNA news agency reported Thursday. ‘Iran believes that whoever is for humanity should also be for eradicating the Zionist regime … Iran follows this issue (the eradication of Israel) with determination and decisiveness and will never ever withdraw from this standpoint and policy …” Read more.

Psalm 83:2,4, “For behold, Your enemies make a tumult; And those who hate You have lifted up their head… They have said, ‘Come, and let us cut them off from [being] a nation, That the name of Israel may be remembered no more.'”

By Roi Kais, YNet – “Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah threatened in a speech on Friday that the terror group has bolstered its capabilities and can now destroy any specific target within ‘occupied Palestine.’

Nasrallah told supporters via a video link that if a new war breaks out, the group will ruin targets in Israel for every building destroyed in Beirut.

‘The era in which we are afraid and they are not is over,’ he said. ‘The time has come to declare that we are here to stay, and they must cease to exist.’

He said that Hezbollah is ‘capable of striking very specific targets not only in Tel Aviv but everywhere in occupied Palestine.’

Nasrallah asserted that Israel’s goal in the Second Lebanon War was to ‘crush the resistance’ – and not to drive Hezbollah away from southern Lebanon’s Litani River or to liberate soldiers captured by the organization, as the Jewish state claimed.

‘The war has failed to achieve its goal,” he said.” Read more.

Flashback: Nasrallah: Next War with Israel Will Start in Tel Aviv, Says Hezbollah Has ‘Many Surprises’ That Will Change the Face of the Region in a Future War – “The next war with Israel will start in Tel Aviv, not on the northern border, Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah warned on Friday, the Lebanese Al-Akhbar newspaper reported. ‘If Israel decided to wage a war against Lebanon, we will not only break the Israeli soldiers’ bones, we will smash them,’ Nasrallah was quoted as saying during a meeting with Hezbollah members. ‘The war would be waged without any red lines, and [Hezbollah] would in return commit to the new equations,’ Nasrallah said. ‘[Hezbollah] has many surprises that will change the face of the region,’ he added.” Read more.

By Kurt Nimmo – “The U.S. ambassador to Israel, Daniel Shaprio, told a closed conference in Tel Aviv that the United States has completed preparations for a military strike on Iran. His comments were recorded by a reporter and aired on Israel’s Channel 2 TV on Wednesday night.

Daniel Shaprio (center) sat on the NSC as senior director for the Middle East before Obama appointed him ambassador to Israel.

‘It would be preferable to resolve this diplomatically, and through the use of pressure, than to use military force,’ Shapiro said. ‘But that does not mean that option isn’t available. Not just available, it’s ready. The necessary planning has been done to ensure that it’s ready.’

Shaprio’s comments were not intended for public consumption, the Times of Israel reports.

The finalized attack plan arrives as Israel and the United States prepare for joint military exercises in the United States. ‘The exercises, to be held in the coming months, will strengthen the relationship between the IAF and the US Air Force as they practice carrying out joint operations,’ the Jerusalem-based online newspaper reported. ‘Israeli and US air defense forces are also to take part in a major joint drill later this summer in Israel to simulate a massive attack. Thousands of US soldiers are expected to arrive in Israel for the drills.'” Read more.

Israeli intelligence head ‘visited US for Iran talks’ – “Israeli military intelligence chief Aviv Kochavi made a ‘secret visit’ to Washington earlier this month to discuss the upcoming talks between world powers and Iran, a newspaper reported on Wednesday. An Israeli security official confirmed the visit, which was reported in Haaretz newspaper, but could not provide further details. As well as discussing Tehran’s nuclear programme, the major general also held talks with senior White House and intelligence officials in New York and Washington on ‘the Syria crisis and Hezbollah’s increasing power in Lebanon,’ the paper said.” Read more.

Iran drills first large-scale paratroop drops for offensive action – “Special operations units of the Iranian army and Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) Tuesday, May 14, began a two-day practice of offensive tactics, for the first time dropping large-scale forces from the air deep behind enemy lines. The many war games Iran has conducted until now focused on defenses of strategic and nuclear locations and repelling invaders. This drill displayed its aggressive capabilities. Codenamed Ja’far Tayyar, it was staged in remote Khorasan near the Afghan border, so as not to expose the commando tactics it employed. In announcing the exercise, Gholam-Ali Gholamian, Dep. Commander for Operations for the IRGC Ground Forces, cagily called it another routine exercise for ‘maintaining the preparedness and promoting the combat capability of units stationed in the region.'” Read more.