JEWISH KING JESUS IS COMING AT THE RAPTURE FOR US IN THE CLOUDS-DON'T MISS IT FOR THE WORLD.THE BIBLE TAKEN LITERALLY- WHEN THE PLAIN SENSE MAKES GOOD SENSE-SEEK NO OTHER SENSE-LEST YOU END UP IN NONSENSE.GET SAVED NOW- CALL ON JESUS TODAY.THE ONLY SAVIOR OF THE WHOLE EARTH - NO OTHER. 1 COR 15:23-JESUS THE FIRST FRUITS-CHRISTIANS RAPTURED TO JESUS-FIRST FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT-23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.ROMANS 8:23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.(THE PRE-TRIB RAPTURE)
PAKISTAN SHOOTS ROCKETS AT IRAN.
WORLD POWERS IN THE LAST DAYS (END OF AGE OF GRACE NOT THE WORLD)
EUROPEAN UNION-KING OF WEST-DAN 9:26-27,DAN 7:23-24,DAN 11:40,REV 13:1-10
EGYPT-KING OF THE SOUTH-DAN 11:40
RUSSIA-KING OF THE NORTH-EZEK 38:1-2,EZEK 39:1-3
CHINA-KING OF THE EAST-DAN 11:44,REV 9:16,18
VATICAN-FALSE RELIGIOUS LEADER-REV 13:11-18,REV 17:4-5,9,18
REVELATION 13:16-18 (WORLD ECONOMY RUN BY THE EUROPEAN UNION)
16 And he(FALSE POPE) causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads:(CHIP IMPLANT)
17 And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
18 Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.(6-6-6) A NUMBER SYSTEM
REVELATION 17:12-13
12 And the ten horns (NATIONS) which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.(SOCIALISM)
13 These have one mind,(SOCIALISM) and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.
REVELATION 6:1-2
1 And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see.
2 And I saw, and behold a white horse:(PEACE) and he that sat on him had a bow;(EU DICTATOR) and a crown was given unto him:(PRESIDENT OF THE EU) and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.(MILITARY GENIUS)
2 THESSALONIANS 2:9-12
9 Even him,(EU WORLD DICTATOR) whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders,
10 And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
11 And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion,(THE FALSE RESURRECTION BY THE WORLD DICTATOR) that they should believe a lie:
12 That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
GENESIS 49:16-17-POSSIBLY A JEW FROM DAN KILLS THE DICTATOR AT MIDPOINT OF TRIB
16 Dan shall judge his people, as one of the tribes of Israel.
17 Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an adder in the path, that biteth the horse heels, so that his rider shall fall backward.
Daniel 11:37-MOST LIKELY A SODOMITE.
37 Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women, nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all.
REVELATION 13:3,7,8 (WORLD GOVERNMENT, WORLD ECONOMY, WORLD RELIGION)
1 And I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy.(THE EU AND ITS DICTATOR IS GODLESS)
2 And the beast which I saw was like unto a leopard, and his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion: and the dragon gave him his power, and his seat, and great authority.(DICTATOR COMES FROM NEW AGE OR OCCULT)
3 And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death;(MURDERERD) and his deadly wound was healed:(COMES BACK TO LIFE) and all the world wondered after the beast.(THE WORLD THINKS ITS GOD IN THE FLESH, MESSIAH TO ISRAEL)
7 And it was given unto him to make war with the saints,(BEHEAD THEM) and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.(WORLD DOMINATION)
8 And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.(WORLD DICTATOR).
Europe NATO to stage largest military exercise in Europe since Cold War By John Vandiver Stars and Stripes • January 18, 2024
U.S. soldiers suppress a simulated attack during exercise Saber Junction at Hohenfels Training Area in Germany in September 2023. It was announced following a NATO meeting in Brussels on Jan. 18, 2024, that the alliance's largest exercise since the Cold War, Steadfast Defender, will take place in Europe with 90,000 troops participating. U.S. soldiers suppress a simulated attack during exercise Saber Junction at Hohenfels Training Area in Germany in September 2023. It was announced following a NATO meeting in Brussels on Jan. 18, 2024, that the alliance's largest exercise since the Cold War, Steadfast Defender, will take place in Europe with 90,000 troops participating. ( Donovon Lynch/U.S. Army) - A record number of U.S. and allied troops will launch a new series of war games next week in Europe, where top NATO commanders said Thursday that a “whole of society” effort is needed to prepare for potential conflict with Russia. U.S. Army Gen. Christopher Cavoli, NATO’s supreme allied commander and head of U.S. European Command, said some 90,000 allied troops are slated to take part in Steadfast Defender, which would make it the largest gathering of troops for an exercise on the Continent in decades. The drills taking place in the Baltics, Poland and other countries will include reinforcements from North America. “This reinforcement will occur during a simulated emerging conflict scenario against a near-peer adversary,” Cavoli said at the conclusion of a two-day defense chiefs meeting in Brussels. Adm. Rob Bauer, the Dutch chairman of the NATO military committee, said the exercise serves as preparation for possible conflict with Russia. U.S. Army Gen. Christopher Cavoli, the NATO supreme allied commander, answers a question at a news conference Jan. 18, 2024, in Brussels after a meeting of alliance defense chiefs. It was announced that NATO’s largest exercise since the Cold War, Steadfast Defender, will take place in Europe, with 90,000 troops participating. U.S. Army Gen. Christopher Cavoli, the NATO supreme allied commander, answers a question at a news conference Jan. 18, 2024, in Brussels after a meeting of alliance defense chiefs. It was announced that NATO’s largest exercise since the Cold War, Steadfast Defender, will take place in Europe, with 90,000 troops participating. (NATO) “I’m not saying it is going wrong tomorrow, but we have to realize it’s not a given that we are in peace,” Bauer said. “And that’s why we have the plans.” Russia remains locked in a nearly two-year-old war with Ukraine, and both sides continue to suffer high numbers of casualties. About 300,000 Russian troops have been killed or injured in the fighting, Bauer said. The Kremlin also has lost an extensive amount of military hardware. But while the ground forces have been degraded, the Russians have stepped up production of missiles and other weaponry, Bauer and Cavoli said. “They are sparing no effort in their reconstitution,” Cavoli said. “They are devoting an enormous fraction of their budget to the military over the coming years ... and they are running their defense industrial base just as fast as they can right now.” In Europe, military officials from countries including Germany, Belgium and Sweden have warned in recent weeks that allies have a short window to prepare for possible conflict with Russia. While Russia’s military industrial base is on a war footing, many allies have expended ammunition stockpiles to arm Ukraine. Bauer, who has repeatedly sounded the alarm about the need for allies to step up their industrial production capability, said societies in Europe that have grown accustomed to peace also need to become more prepared. “It is the whole of society that will get involved (in a war) whether we like it or not,” Bauer said. Last week, Swedish military commander-in-chief Gen. Micael Byden warned that that all Swedes should mentally prepare for the possibility of war. That caused alarm, and citizens have begun stockpiling supplies. Bauer said it’s a good sign that Swedes were getting ready. “The fact that people find (the possibility of war) a surprise and as a result buy radios and batteries, that is great,” he said. “It starts (with) the realization that not everything is plannable, not everything is going to be hunky-dory in the next 20 years.”Read more at: https://www.stripes.com/theaters/europe/2024-01-18/eucom-nato-russia-war-12716615.html-Source - Stars and Stripes
JESUS SHED HIS BLOOD FOR US THAT WE CAN BE SAVED FOREVER.AND DURING WW3 PEOPLES BLOOD WILL BE SHED AS A JUDGEMENT FOR HATING HIM AND ISRAEL.GOD IS NOT MOCKED.
ZEPHANIAH 1:2-3
2 I will utterly consume all things from off the land, saith the LORD.
3 I will consume man and beast; I will consume the fowls of the heaven, and the fishes of the sea, and the stumblingblocks with the wicked; and I will cut off man from off the land, saith the LORD.
PSALMS 97:3
3 A fire goeth before him, and burneth up his enemies round about.
EZEKIEL 5:15-17
15 So it shall be a reproach and a taunt, an instruction and an astonishment unto the (ARAB/MUSLIM) nations that are round about thee,(ISRAEL) when I shall execute judgments in thee in anger and in fury and in furious rebukes. I the LORD have spoken it.
16 When I shall send upon them the evil arrows of famine, which shall be for their destruction, and which I will send to destroy you: and I will increase the famine upon you, and will break your staff of bread:
17 So will I send upon you famine and evil beasts,(WHEN RUSSIA/MUSLIMS GET DEFEATED THIER BODIES GET EATEN BY BIRDS,ANIMALS IN ISRAEL MIGRATION SEASON) and they shall bereave thee; and pestilence and blood shall pass through thee;(NUKES) and I will bring the sword upon thee. I the LORD have spoken it.
REVELATION 14:18-20
18 And another angel came out from the altar, which had power over fire; and cried with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle, and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth; for her grapes are fully ripe.
19 And the angel thrust in his sickle into the earth, and gathered the vine of the earth, and cast it into the great winepress of the wrath of God.
20 And the winepress was trodden without the city,(JERUSALEM) and blood came out of the winepress, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs.(200 MILES) (THE SIZE OF ISRAEL)
ISAIAH 66:15-18
15 For, behold, the LORD will come with fire,(NUKES) and with his chariots like a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire.
17 They that sanctify themselves, and purify themselves in the gardens behind one tree in the midst, eating swine's flesh, and the abomination, and the mouse, shall be consumed together, saith the LORD.
18 For I know their works and their thoughts: it shall come, that I will gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come, and see my glory.
ISAIAH 26:21
21 For, behold, the LORD cometh out of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity:(GOD/ISRAEL HATE AND BRAKING OF HIS COMMANDMENTS) the earth also shall disclose her blood, and shall no more cover her slain.(WW3,1/2 earths population die - 3 BILLION).
ISAIAH 13:6-13 KJV
6 Howl ye; for the day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty.
7 Therefore shall all hands be faint, and every man's heart shall melt:(FROM FRIGHT)
8 And they shall be afraid: pangs and sorrows shall take hold of them; they shall be in pain as a woman that travaileth: they shall be amazed one at another; their faces shall be as flames.
9 Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.
10 For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.
11 And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.
12 I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir.
13 Therefore I will shake the heavens, and the earth shall remove out of her place, in the wrath of the LORD of hosts, and in the day of his fierce anger.
ISAIAH 24:17-23 KJV
17 Fear, and the pit, and the snare, are upon thee, O inhabitant of the earth.
18 And it shall come to pass, that he who fleeth from the noise of the fear shall fall into the pit; and he that cometh up out of the midst of the pit shall be taken in the snare: for the windows from on high are open, and the foundations of the earth do shake.
19 The earth is utterly broken down, the earth is clean dissolved, the earth is moved exceedingly.
20 The earth shall reel to and fro like a drunkard, and shall be removed like a cottage; and the transgression thereof shall be heavy upon it; and it shall fall, and not rise again.
21 And it shall come to pass in that day, that the LORD shall punish the host of the high ones that are on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth.
22 And they shall be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison, and after many days shall they be visited.
23 Then the moon shall be confounded, and the sun ashamed, when the LORD of hosts shall reign in mount Zion, and in Jerusalem, and before his ancients gloriously.
2 TIMOTHY 3:1
1 This know also, that in the last days perilous (DANGEROUS) times shall come.
ZECHARIAH 14:12-13
12 And this shall be the plague wherewith the LORD will smite all the people that have fought against Jerusalem; Their flesh shall consume away while they stand upon their feet,(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB) and their eyes shall consume away in their holes,(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB) and their tongue shall consume away in their mouth.(DISOLVED FROM ATOMIC BOMB)(BECAUSE NUKES HAVE BEEN USED ON ISRAELS ENEMIES)(GOD PROTECTS ISRAEL AND ALWAYS WILL)
13 And it shall come to pass in that day, that a great tumult from the LORD shall be among them; and they shall lay hold every one on the hand of his neighbour, and his hand shall rise up against the hand of his neighbour.(1/2-3 BILLION DIE IN WW3)(THIS IS AN ATOMIC BOMB EFFECT)
EZEKIEL 20:47
47 And say to the forest of the south, Hear the word of the LORD; Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will kindle a fire in thee, and it shall devour every green tree in thee, and every dry tree: the flaming flame shall not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north shall be burned therein.
ZEPHANIAH 1:18
18 Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD'S wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.
MALACHI 4:1
1 For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven;(FROM ATOMIC BOMBS) and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
REVELATION 8:7
7 The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.
REVELATION 9:18
18 By these three was the third part of men killed,(2 BILLION) by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.(ATOMIC BOMBS)(RUSSIA CHINA DESTROYED BY ISRAELS ATOMIC BOMBS)
REVELATION 16:12-16
12 And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates;(WERE WW3 STARTS IN IRAQ OR SYRIA OR TURKEY) and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.
13 And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon,(SATAN) and out of the mouth of the beast,(WORLD DICTATOR) and out of the mouth of the false prophet.(FALSE POPE)
14 For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.(WERE 2 BILLION DIE FROM NUKE WAR)
15 Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.
16 And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.
17 And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven, from the throne, saying, It is done.
Nine dead in Pakistan strikes on Iran; China offers to mediate-by AFP Staff Writers-Tehran (AFP) Jan 18, 2024
Pakistani air strikes on Iran killed nine people in a border region in the Islamic republic's southeast on Thursday, state media reported, updating an earlier toll of seven dead."Two men were also killed in the missile attack this morning in one of the border villages of Saravan, bringing the death toll to nine," the official IRNA news agency said quoting Alireza Marhamati, deputy provincial governor of Iran's Sistan-Baluchistan province.Marhamati had earlier said that three women and four children were killed in the strikes.Pakistan said it had on Thursday launched "a series of highly coordinated and specifically targeted precision military strikes against terrorist hideouts" in Iran's Sistan-Baluchistan province.Iran's Interior Minister Ahmad Vahidi said all the dead "were foreign nationals", in a televised interview.Iran's Fars news agency said, without citing any sources, that those killed were "believed to be Pakistani nationals".Neither the minister nor Fars explained their presence there at the time.Sistan-Baluchistan province is one of the few mainly Sunni Muslim provinces in Shiite-dominated Iran.It has seen persistent unrest involving cross-border drug-smuggling gangs and rebels from the Baluchi ethnic minority as well as jihadists.Iran condemned the strikes, and summoned Pakistan's charge d'affaire "to protest and request an explanation from the Pakistani government," according to statement by foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani.The attack took place two days after Iran carried out strikes against "terrorist" targets in Pakistan which left at least two children dead.On Wednesday Pakistan had denounced the strikes near the countries' shared border, recalled its ambassador from Iran and blocked Tehran's envoy from returning to Islamabad.On January 10, the Jaish al-Adl (Army of Justice) jihadist group claimed an attack on a police station in the southeastern city of Rask which killed one officer. The group had carried out a similar attack in December killing11 police officers.Formed in 2012, Jaish al-Adl is blacklisted by Iran as a terrorist group and has carried out several attacks on Iranian soil in recent years.The group said on Wednesday it had killed a member of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in Sistan-Baluchistan, IRNA news agency reported.
China says willing to mediate between Pakistan and Iran after strikes-Beijing (AFP) Jan 18, 2024 - Beijing said Thursday it was willing to mediate between Pakistan and Iran following an exchange of fire against militant targets in their border region, including a strike that Tehran said killed at least seven civilians."The Chinese side sincerely hopes that the two sides can exercise calm and restraint and avoid an escalation of tension," foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told a regular press conference.We are also willing to play a constructive role in de-escalating the situation if both sides so wish," she said.Nuclear-armed Pakistan and neighbouring Iran are both battling simmering insurgencies along their sparsely populated border regions.On Thursday, Pakistan said it carried out strikes against militant targets in Iran.Tehran said it had summoned the Pakistani charge d'affaires in response to the attack, which killed at least seven people.Both countries are close partners of Beijing and members of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.Mao reiterated Iran and Pakistan were "friendly countries to China, and countries with important influence".
Pakistan launches retaliatory airstrikes on Iran, killing at least 7 people-Foreign Ministry says strikes on Sistan and Baluchestan province taken ‘in light of credible intelligence of impending large-scale terrorist activities’By Munir Ahmed and Jon Gambrell Today, 8:10 am-JAN 18,24
ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan’s air force launched retaliatory airstrikes early Thursday on Iran allegedly targeting militant positions, an attack that killed at least seven people and further raised tensions between the neighboring nations.The strikes in Sistan and Baluchestan province follow Iran’s attack Tuesday on Pakistani soil that killed two children in the southwestern Baluchistan province.The strikes imperil diplomatic relations between the two neighbors, as Iran and nuclear-armed Pakistan have long regarded each other with suspicion over militant attacks.The attacks also raised the threat of violence spreading in a Middle East unsettled by Israel’s war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Iran also staged airstrikes late Monday in Iraq and Syria over an Islamic State-claimed suicide bombing that killed over 90 people earlier this month. Iraq has recalled its ambassador from Iran for consultations.Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry described their attack as “a series of highly coordinated and specifically targeted precision military strikes.”“This morning’s action was taken in light of credible intelligence of impending large scale terrorist activities,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement. “This action is a manifestation of Pakistan’s unflinching resolve to protect and defend its national security against all threats.”TKD MONITORING: A video uploaded by news outlets of Saravan city at dawn shows at least one site hit by Pakistan early this morning. Multiple bodies are under the debris it states. Saravan city in Sistan wa Balochistan province of Iran is approximately 200 kilometres from… pic.twitter.com/LrLr58iMBO— The Khorasan Diary (@khorasandiary) January 18, 2024-Several insurgent groups operate in Iran and Pakistan, including the Jaish al-Adl Sunni separatist group that was targeted by Tehran in its own strike. They all have a common goal of an independent Baluchistan for ethnic Baluch areas in Afghanistan, Iran and Pakistan.Pakistan’s Baluchistan province, as well as Iran’s neighboring Sistan and Baluchestan province, have faced a low-level insurgency by Baluch nationalists for more than two decades.A deputy governor of Iran’s Sistan and Baluchestan province, Ali Reza Marhamati, gave the casualty figures from Thursday’s strike in a telephone interview, saying the dead included three women and four children. He did not immediately elaborate.HalVash, an advocacy group for the Baluch people, shared images online that appeared to show the remains of the munitions used in the attack. It said a number of homes had been struck in Saravan, a city in Iran’s Sistan and Baluchestan province. It shared videos showing a mud-walled building destroyed and smoke rising over the strike immediately after. Thursday’s development came a day after Pakistan recalled its ambassador to Tehran because of Tuesday’s strikes by Iran inside Pakistan’s southwestern Baluchistan province. Iran claimed it targeted bases for a militant Sunni separatist group. It drew strong condemnation from Pakistan, which denounced the attack as a “blatant violation” of its airspace and said it killed two children.
Iran says it targeted 'Iranian terrorist group' in Pakistan-by AFP Staff Writers-Davos, Switzerland (AFP) Jan 17, 2024
Tehran's top diplomat said on Wednesday that his country's armed forces targeted an "Iranian terrorist group" in Pakistan the day before, after Islamabad said the strike killed two children."None of the nationals of the friendly and brotherly country of Pakistan were targeted by Iranian missiles and drones," Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland."The so-called Jaish al-Adl group, which is an Iranian terrorist group, was targeted," he added.The raid came late on Tuesday after Tehran also launched attacks in Iraq and Syria against what it called "anti-Iranian terrorist groups".Pakistan denounced the strike near the nations' shared border, recalled its ambassador from Iran and blocked Tehran's envoy from returning to Islamabad.A few hours before the strike, Pakistani caretaker Prime Minister Anwar-ul-Haq Kakar met Amir-Abdollahian on the sidelines of the Davos Forum.Amir-Abdollahian said Iran's attack on "Pakistan's soil" was a response to the Jaish al-Adl group's recent deadly attacks on the Islamic republic, particularly on the city of Rask in the southeastern province of Sistan-Baluchistan.At attack on January 10 on a police station in the city killed a policeman, almost a month after 11 police officers were killed in a similar attack in the area.Both attacks were claimed by Jaish al-Adl (Army of Justice), a Sunni Muslim extremist group that was formed in 2012 and is blacklisted by Iran as a "terrorist" group."The group has taken shelter in some parts of Pakistan's Balochistan province," Amir-Abdollahian said, adding that "we've talked with Pakistani officials several times on this matter".The foreign minister said Iran respected the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Pakistan but would not "allow the country's national security to be compromised or played with".
Iran 'flexes muscles' amid Gaza war fallout: analysts-Tehran (AFP) Jan 16, 2024 - With its strikes in Syria and Iraq, Iran has sought to "flex its muscles" in the fallout of the Israel-Hamas war without provoking a confrontation with the United States, analysts said.In neighbouring Iraq, the strikes by Iran's Revolutionary Guards targeted an alleged Israeli "spy headquarters" in the autonomous Kurdish region in response to the assassination of Iranian and pro-Iranian commanders in recent weeks.In Syria, the strikes targeted the Islamic State jihadist group in response to twin suicide bombings that killed around 90 people at an official memorial event in southern Iran earlier this month."There was an immense amount of pressure on the leadership in Tehran to flex its muscles in response to a series of setbacks it had suffered for the past few weeks," Ali Vaez, director of the Iran Project at the International Crisis Group told AFP."This is kind of a show of force with the twin objective of satisfying core constituents at home and also without escalating tensions with the US and Israel."The US State Department condemned the Iranian strikes as "reckless" but a White House spokesperson said no US personnel or facilities were hit.Iraq summoned Iran's envoy in Baghdad and recalled its ambassador from Tehran for consultations in a sharp rebuke to its ally over the "attack on its sovereignty".Iraq's National Security Adviser Qassem al-Araji challenged Iran's claim that the target of the Arbil strike was an Israeli intelligence headquarters, saying after a tour of the damaged building that it showed every evidence of having been the family home of an Iraqi businessman.- 'Avoid war' -The official IRNA news agency said the Syria attack was "the longest missile launch by Iran with a range of 1,200 kilometres (750 miles)" that can be interpreted as a "direct message to Israel.""Iran continues to proactively and dynamically back the anti-Israeli campaign," said Tohid Asadi, professor at the University of Tehran.Iran has made support for the Palestinian cause a centrepiece of its foreign policy since the 1979 Islamic revolution.The Islamic republic supports Palestinian militant group Hamas and hailed its deadly October 7 attacks on Israel as a "success" while denying any direct involvement. Asadi noted that Iran is aware "that any direct intervention will run the risk of dragging the region into a full-fledged all-out confrontation""This is the least favourite scenario for Iran," he added.International affairs specialist Fayyaz Zahed agreed."Neither Iran, nor the United States, nor the other powers are interested in a direct conflict. But each of them plays their own cards," he said.Zahed said a characteristic of supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's 35 years in power was to "avoid war" while maintaining the influence of Iran's military.Since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war on October 7, Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah movement and Israeli forces have been exchanging regular cross-border fire.Yemen's Iran-aligned Huthi rebels have launched a spate of missile and drone attacks targeting Red Sea shipping which has prompted many firms to avoid the waters.Last week, the United States and Britain hit more than 30 military sites held by the Huthis in strikes condemned by Tehran.On Tuesday, Khamenei hailed the Yemeni rebels for their actions saying "these efforts will continue until victory."Iran says it sees it as "duty" to support what it calls "resistance groups" in the region but insists they are "independent" in decision and action."We are already in a regional war," said Vaez."The events of the past 24 hours clearly demonstrated this has already started even though its still at a low simmer."
US strikes Houthi missile launchers that posed ‘imminent threat’ to ships in Red Sea-In fourth action over recent days, US hits 14 missiles it says were on launch rails and ready for use, warns Iran to stop supplying weapons to rebel group-By TARA COPP and Lolita C. Baldor Today, 8:13 am-JAN 18,24
WASHINGTON (AP) — The US military fired another wave of ship- and submarine-launch missile strikes against Houthi-controlled sites Wednesday, US Central Command said, marking the fourth time in days it has directly targeted the group in Yemen as violence that ignited in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war continues to spill over in the Middle East.The strikes were launched from the Red Sea and hit 14 missiles that the command deemed an “imminent threat.” The strikes followed an official announcement Wednesday that the US has put the Houthis back on its list of specially designated global terrorists. The sanctions that come with the formal designation are meant to sever violent extremist groups from their sources of financing.“Forces conducted strikes on 14 Iran-backed Houthi missiles that were loaded to be fired in Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen,” Central Command said in a statement posted on X late Wednesday. “These missiles on launch rails presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels and US Navy ships in the region and could have been fired at any time, prompting US forces to exercise their inherent right and obligation to defend themselves.”Despite the sanctions and military strikes, including a large-scale operation Friday carried out by US and British warships and warplanes that hit more than 60 targets across Yemen, the Houthis are continuing their harassment campaign of commercial and military ships. The latest incident occurred Wednesday when a one-way attack drone was launched from a Houthi-controlled area in Yemen and struck the Marshall Islands-flagged, US-owned and -operated M/V Genco Picardy in the Gulf of Aden.The US has also strongly warned Iran to cease providing weapons to the Houthis. Last Thursday a US raid on a dhow intercepted ballistic missile parts the US said Iran was shipping to Yemen. Two US Navy SEALs remain unaccounted for after one was knocked off the vessel by a wave during the seizure and the second followed the overcome SEAL into the water.On Wednesday, Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said the US would continue to take military action to prevent further attacks.“They are exploiting this situation to conduct attacks against the ships and vessels from more than 50 countries … around the world. And so we’re going to continue to work with our partners in the region to prevent those attacks or deter those attacks in the future,” Ryder said.There have been several incidents since the Friday joint operations. The Houthis fired an anti-ship cruise missile toward a US Navy destroyer over the weekend, but the ship shot it down. The Houthis then struck a US-owned ship in the Gulf of Aden on Monday and a Malta-flagged bulk carrier in the Red Sea on Tuesday.In response Tuesday, the US struck four anti-ship ballistic missiles that were prepared to launch and presented an imminent threat to merchant and US Navy ships in the region.Hours later, the Houthis claimed responsibility for the attack on the Malta-flagged bulk carrier Zografia. The ship was hit, but no one was injured and it continued on its way.
