Syria is strengthening its military alliance with Turkey as it reinforces its recent threat to send Israel back to "the Stone Age" if it attacks Hizbullah.

Syrian President Bashar Assad told a Kuwaiti newspaper on Saturday it has some "surprises" in store for Israel.

Turkish military officials said that its soldiers began joint military exercises with Syria on Monday, the second time in a year. The army maneuvers are a sign of closer ties between Damascus and Ankara, which was considered to be a friend of Israel until last year.

Turkey has also established closer ties with Iran, and an Iranian-Turkish-Syrian-Lebanese axis would pose a considerable threat to Israel from the north.

Syrian sources tell the Kuwaiti daily Al-Rai that if Israel were to attack the Lebanon-based Hizbullah terrorist army, Syria would impose a naval blockade on Israel.

According to GlobalSecurity.ORG, Syria has developed a robust chemical weapons program - perhaps one of the most advanced in the Middle East - and a variety of delivery methods.

The regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad reportedly has the capability to fire 60 ballistic missiles and 600 tactical missiles in a single day.

(INN, et al 4/27)

[Although Egypt formally made peace with Israel in 1978, she is prophecied to betray the Jewish state at the time of the End (II Kings 18:21, Joel 3:19). Egypt's true feelings toward Israel became apparant in comments made over the weekend by its foreign minister. Story]

Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit referred to Israel as an "enemy" during a press conference in Beirut on Saturday.

Aboul Gheit said concerns expressed by Israel and the United States on the alleged transfer of Scud missiles from Syria to Hezbollah were "ridiculous".

Following talks with Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri, Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and Foreign Minister 'Ali Al-Shami, Aboul Gheit was asked whether he was visiting Beirut in order to convey a warning from Israel.

The Egyptian minister said in response that the purpose of his trip was not to relay messages "from the enemy to a sister Arab state."

Gheit also said Cairo would stand by Lebanon and Syria in case they were attacked by Israel.

His statement made headlines in a number of Arab newspapers and were characterized by Israel as "very harsh."

(YNET, AFP, et al 4/26)

The Israeli air force has practiced simulated strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities using airspace of at least two unidentified Arab countries, a newspaper published in east Jerusalem reports.

According to Al Manar, in late February several Israeli combat jets carried out bombing drills "targeting" known Iranian nuclear sites "in two Arab countries in the Persian Gulf, which are close territorially with the Islamic republic and cooperate with Israel on this issue."

Al Manar said Israel had received permission to use the airspace from the top leadership of these countries and Washington "gave its blessing" to Tel Aviv to conduct the exercises.

Meanwhile, the chief of the Russian General Staff Nikolai Makarov said on Monday any airstrike against Iran by the United States or Israel would be "unacceptable".

Both the United States and Israel have refused to rule out military action if diplomacy fails to resolve the dispute over Iran's nuclear program.

(RIA Novosti, et al 4/12)

[Note that this treaty is for a seven-year period. The Book of Daniel speaks of a "strong and firm covenant with the many for a seven" being made at the time of the End (Dan. 9:27). Story.]

President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev agreed on Friday to sharp cuts in the nuclear arsenals of both nations in the most comprehensive arms control treaty in two decades.

Obama said the pact, to be signed April 8, was part of his effort to "reset" relations with Russia and move toward "the peace and security of a world without nuclear weapons."

Both sides would have seven years after the treaty's ratification to carry out the approximately 30 percent reduction in long-range nuclear weapons.

The agreement also calls for smaller cuts to warheads and bombs based on planes, ships and land.

Though the agreement must still be ratified by the U.S. Senate and the Russian Duma before it takes effect, Obama and Medvedev plan to sign it next month in Prague.

(AP, et al 3/27)

[Iranian President Ahmadinejad's unceasing invective against Israel shows he is still looking for a pretext to fulfill Islamic prophecy regarding the 12th Imam. In an interview with NBC last September, Ahmadinejad acknowledged praying "for the arrival of the 12th Imam." And during that same interview was asked four times to rule out any scenario by which Iran would develop nuclear weapons, and four times he pointedly refused.]

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has warned Israel that initiating a new military conflict in the Middle East would not save it from downfall.

Speaking in the southern Iranian Province of Hormozagan on Thursday, Ahmadinejad said that Israel was a Western prodigy that had now "reached the end of its road."

"Today, it is clear that Israel is the most hated regime in the world," said Ahmadinejad.

"They think in their underdeveloped minds that if they launch another war against Lebanon or Syria it might help them survive a little longer. I am telling them that you are in a situation now that more aggressions or wars will not save you."

"Whether they want it or not, with God's grace, this regime will be annihilated and Palestinians and other regional nations will be rid of its bad omen," he added.

(Press-TV.IR 3/11/10)

An escalation in arms stockpiling by Hamas and Hizbullah has convinced defense analysts that another war with Israel is on the horizon.

The article in Aviation Week relied on intelligence estimates that the two terrorist organizations, sponsored by Iran and Syria, have armed themselves far beyond their stockpiles of 2006, when both Hamas and Hizbullah kidnapped Israeli soldiers, leading to the 34-day Lebanon War.

The article noted that Tehran and Damascus could encourage Hamas and Hizbullah to attack Israel "in furtherance of their regional aims." A war with Israel, fought through Hamas or Hezbollah, could be one way of diverting world attention from Iran's nuclear program.

"Restoring Hamas's arsenal with advanced ordnance is a major part of Iran's strategy of targeting Israel from Lebanon and Gaza," said the publication.

Underground bunkers and tunnels gave Hizbullah a decisive edge over the IDF in the Second Lebanon War. The technical knowledge for the tunnels reportedly came from Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who is a former transportation engineer.

(INN, et al 3/10/10)

[The Israeli military says this distribution of gas masks is routine and not in response to a specific threat. But, it comes at a time when Iranian President Ahmadinejad says a "grand victory" over Israel is "imminent". Story.]

Israel has begun distributing new gas masks to its 7 million citizens to offer protection against a possible chemical attack.

Distribution began Sunday in the city of Or Yehuda. The distribution will continue over a period of 6 days and will then be extended to Kiryat Ono, in central Israel, and surrounding areas.

Israel believes a chemical attack could potentially come from Syria or Iran.

Israel distributed gas masks and kits with antidotes right before the first Gulf War in 1991.

Meanwhile, in a rant that reeked of anti-Semitism, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Sunday that the "Zionist regime" was seeking to control the world.

Addressing the International Conference on National and Islamic Solidarity for Future of Palestine, Ahmadinejad said that the existence of Israel is an insult to all of humanity.

(Haaretz, AP, JPost, et al 3/1/10)

Is Iran goading Israel into striking one of its nuclear facilities?

According to the New York Times, which quotes the latest International Atomic Energy Agency report, on Feb. 14 nuclear inspectors watched as Iran transferred about 4,300 pounds of low-enriched uranium from deep underground storage to a small plant Iran has declared it will use to re- enrich the fuel to 20 percent purity.

The report says the move made no sense, because Iran does not need that much fuel to run an aging reactor in Tehran that makes medical isotopes.

Iran's inexplicable action exposes the material to an airstrike or even ground-based sabotage. The Times quoted one official as saying the move was tantamount to painting a bull's-eye on the stockpile.

Analysts have called this puzzling, as Iran last September was caught building an underground enrichment site at a military base near the city of Qom, claiming that the threat of an Israeli or U.S. attack necessitated it.

One of the explanations analysts have used to explain the about-face is that Iran's Revolutionary Guards are "inviting" an Israeli attack to deflect attention from the eight months of post-election violence that has divided the country.

One senior European diplomat told the New York Times on Thursday that an Israeli military strike could be the best thing for the Iranian regime, because it would unite Iranians against a common enemy.

(Haaretz, JPost, et al 2/27/10)

The IAEA U.N. nuclear agency on Thursday expressed concern for the first time that Iran may currently be working on ways to turn enriched uranium into a nuclear warhead.

It was the first time the Vienna-based organization has used such phrasing in one of its reports.

The confidential report, made available to The Associated Press, said Iran's resistance to agency attempts to probe for signs of a nuclear cover-up give rise to concerns about possible military dimensions.

"Iran has not provided the necessary cooperation to permit the agency to confirm that all nuclear material in Iran is for peaceful activities," it said.

"Altogether this raises concerns about the possible existence in Iran of past or current undisclosed activities related to the development of a nuclear payload for a missile."

Iran's envoy to the IAEA, Ali Asghar Soltanieh, rejected the UN watchdog's report, saying the documents cited in the report were "fabricated and thus do not have any validity."

Soltanieh went on to say that "the issue of missiles or explosives has nothing to do with the IAEA's charter and function."

He said his country would not give up uranium enrichment and the West must get used to an Iran that is a "master of enrichment."

(Haaretz, AFP, Press-TV.IR, et al 2/19/10)

[Iran is now reacting with threats to make the West "regret" imposing more sanctions. This could be a threat to close the Persian Gulf to oil traffic. Such a closure would cripple Western economies and likely result in a regional war. Whatever the case, matters regarding Iran appear to be coming to a head. Story.]

"If somebody acts against Iran our response will definitely be firm enough [to] make them [regret it]," Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told a news conference Tuesday.

"Iran will retaliate, of course," he warned.

Ahmadinejad was speaking one day after U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sought oil giant Saudi Arabia's support to help win Chinese backing for additional sanctions.

Clinton said a new round of sanctions should target Iran's Revolutionary Guard.

Ahmadinejad boasted that Iran has adapted to past sanctions, which, he said, have put the country on a path of constant progress.

"We are in the final stages of testing a new generation of centrifuges that will increase five-fold our capacity to enrich uranium," he claimed.

In Washington, the White House on Tuesday would not rule out any options -- including a military option -- for dealing with Iran's nuclear ambitions.

(NewsMax, Press-TV.IR, et al 2/17/10)

Ezekiel 38 predicts that, when the End comes, Russia (Rosh) will descend "like a storm" against Palestine (Ezek. 38:9). Looking at today's geopolitical situation, what conditions could possibly prompt a massive Russian invasion of the Mideast that will also involve Iran (Ezek. 38:5)?

The answer to that may lie in the new military doctrine recently announced by Russia on its government website.

The doctrine specifically states:

"Russia may send troops abroad to protect its national interests or its citizens in line with norms of international law, international agreements and federal legislation."

"Russia retains the right to use nuclear weapons in response to an attack against it or its allies with nuclear weapons or other weapons of mass destruction, or in response to an aggression with the use of conventional weapons."

The Bushehr nuclear reactor in Iran is being built by Russian technicians and is set to go online in 2010.

The West is concerned that weapons-grade plutonium could be extracted from Bushehr, allowing the Iranians to construct nuclear weapons and "wipe Israel off the map". This fact could easily lead to a military attack on Bushehr by Israel and/or U.S. forces before the reactor is completed. The result could be scores, if not hundreds of Russian casualties.

These casualties would then trigger the use of Russian "troops abroad" to protect "its citizens".

And the use of nuclear weapons would then ensue "in response to an aggression with the use of conventional weapons."

Thus it appears the mechanism is now fully in place to bring about the End of the world. All that remains is for Father to choose the day and time.

To view a factbox of Russia's new military doctrine, click the below link.

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20100205/157786616.html

-Bro Eck

The German magazine Der Spiegel reported Monday that Iran's scientists could produce a basic "truck-sized" nuclear bomb this year.

An intelligence document obtained by Der Spiegel shows that there is a secret military branch of Iran's nuclear research program that answers to Tehran's ministry of defense.

Such documents, as well as information passed on to Western intelligence agencies by Iranian defectors and sources within Iran, are causing growing alarm among US and European leaders.

Officials who have read the document - now under review by the U.S., Germany and Israel - claim that it shows that Iran has a well-advanced nuclear weapons program.

(Haaretz, JPost, Reuters, et al 1/26/10)

Iran and Syria plan to create a new world order, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Thursday.

"Iran and Syria have a joint mission to create a new world order on the basis of justice, humanity and belief in God," Ahmadinejad told visiting Syrian Parliament Speaker Mahmoud al-Abrash.

Syria is Iran's main ally in the Middle East and both countries consider Israel to be their arch enemy.

The semi-official FARS news agency reported that Ahmadinejad said that "the resistance of nations including Iran and Syria has caused a deadlock in policies of Arrogant System in economic, political and military areas."

Iran's president added that he felt that the United States would eventually be forced by the two states to stop interfering in the region.

He also predicted, "The enemies' plots will [cause them to] harm themselves."

(Haaretz 1/7/10)

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