Iranian Emad missile (Mohammad Agah)
Iran is telling the world it still will proceed with its military ambitions:
January 19, 2016
Iranian Defense Minister Hossein Dehqan said Monday new U.S. sanctions targeting the country’s ballistic missile program will have no effect on missile development.
The U.S. imposed the new measures Sunday against five Iranian nationals and a network of companies with links to banned missile activity, a move that followed the lifting of economic sanctions tied to Iran’s nuclear program.
Dehqan said the ballistic missile sanctions show the U.S. is “hostile” toward Iran and he pledged to unveil new missile developments soon.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hossein Jaber Ansari called the new sanctions illegitimate.
Iran drew condemnation from the United States and other Western powers for two ballistic missile tests late last year said to violate U.N. Security Council resolutions. Iran defended the tests as a matter of national security.
‘Vigorously’ enforce sanctions
President Barack Obama said his government will “vigorously” enforce sanctions against Iran’s ballistic missile program.
“Iran’s recent missile test, for example, was a violation of its international obligations and as a result the United States is imposing sanctions on individuals and companies working to advance Iran’s ballistic missile program,” Obama said. “And we are going to remain vigilant about it.”
The U.S. Treasury Department said the five Iranians worked to get missile components for Iran, as did the network of companies based In the United Arab Emirates and China that used third parties to try to deceive foreign suppliers and hide the identity of who would ultimately be using the materials.
The announcement came a day after the U.S. agreed to lift sanctions related to Iran’s nuclear program under an international deal reached in July, and hours after confirmation that five Americans held captive in Iran had been released. …
On Monday, following the lifting of international sanctions over its nuclear program, Iran announced a major boost in oil production, by 500,000 barrels a day. Iran currently produces about 3 million barrels per day, about 1 million of which is exported.
Saturday’s announcement that Iran is complying with last July’s nuclear agreement is seen by many analysts as a boost to the prestige of Rouhani, who said he expects it will open “new windows for engagement with the world.” http://www.voanews.com/content/iran-new-sanctions-will-not-limit-ballistic-missile-program/3152322.html
Iran got the international UN sanctions lifted that were against it.
This gives Iran access to something like US$90-150 billion of frozen assets, plus will allow it to trade internationally. Iran is believed to have the fourth largest oil reserves in the world.
So, Iran will be able to better fund its military objectives. The USA has lost much of the leverage it slightly had with Iran when it agreed to the nuclear deal and the lifting of the international sanctions. While Europe might impose some of its own sanctions against Iran, the totality of the suggested sanctions simply will not affect Iran as much as the lifting of the UN related ones.
Iran feels emboldened to continue with its military plans and is telling the world, including its neighbors, that it will pursue them.
Contrary to the hopes of many, the government of Iran does NOT want to be a peaceful nation in the Near East. Iran’s leaders want to invade Israel, dominate all Islam, and eliminate the USA. Iran will continue to take steps that it believes will help it accomplish that, including military ones.
Iran ultimately wants to takeover the world.
That is what Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei really wants.
Yet, as I have been writing, Iran is likely to ‘overplay it hand.’ It believes that Allah is on its side and that Allah’s agents have helped get Iran into a position where it can prevail against Israel and the USA and then gain the leadership of the Islamic world.
This makes Iran dangerous.
According to the Bible, Iran may very well damage Israel with its ballistic missiles. Consider the following involving Elam (a reference to some in Iran) and Kir (possibly a reference to some in Syria):
5 For it is a day of trouble and treading down and perplexity
By the Lord God of hosts
In the Valley of Vision —
Breaking down the walls
And of crying to the mountain.
6 Elam bore the quiver
With chariots of men and horsemen,
And Kir uncovered the shield.
7 It shall come to pass that your choicest valleys
Shall be full of chariots,
And the horsemen shall set themselves in array at the gate.8 He removed the protection of Judah.
You looked in that day to the armor of the House of the Forest;
9 You also saw the damage to the city of David,
That it was great;
And you gathered together the waters of the lower pool.
10 You numbered the houses of Jerusalem,
And the houses you broke down
To fortify the wall. (Isaiah 22:5-10)
The tiny nation called Israel is essentially ‘Judah’ and the reference to the City of David is pointing to Jerusalem. The USA could also be affected by Iran. Iran is currently believed to be capable of using ‘dirty’ bombs (explosives with radioactive components), biological weapons, chemical weapons, and electro-magnetic pulse weapons, while it is widely believed to be working on actual nuclear weapons. Yet Iran will ultimately be basically neutralized as a power (cf. Jeremiah 49:34-38). Notice something I posted on May 26, 2010:
If Iran keeps trying to be difficult on the international scene, it will likely be neutralized (Iran Slams Russia).
Iran is not in as strong of a position as its leaders now seem to think.
Because of how its leaders think, we may very well see a regional war involving Iran, Syria, and Israel, perhaps with some USA involvement. A war that could see all of them damaged according to Bible prophecy. But also a war that might lead to another ‘deal’–perhaps one day the deal of Daniel 9:27 that will signal the final countdown to the end.
That being said, despite the view of certain Protestant prophecy watchers, it needs to be pointed out that Iran is not about to be totally aligned with Russia to invade Israel or somehow fulfill Ezekiel 38 (see also Ezekiel 38: For Russia & Iran in Our Day? and/or watchRussia, Iran, Syria, & the Bible (Code)). Ezekiel 38 is NOT fulfilled until well AFTER Jesus returns.
Iran’s statements about its ballistic program demonstrate that it is committed to its military agenda. One that may not end up well for Israel, nor itself (Jeremiah 49:34-38).
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