Show Of Force

US President Donald Trump is sending quite a few Naval ships towards Iran as we see in a report from The Epoch Times:

President Donald Trump said on Jan. 22 that the U.S. Navy has sent a large flotilla toward Iran as the Islamic regime continues to be engulfed in its largest wave of protests since the 1979 revolution.

Trump was tight lipped about why, but I think we can figure it out:

Speaking with reporters on Air Force One on Thursday, Trump said the United States has deployed its Navy in the direction of Iran, “just in case,” as he has repeatedly warned the Iranian regime not to execute protesters or face the wrath of the U.S. military.

“We‘ll see what happens. We have a big force going toward Iran. I’d rather not see anything happen, but we’re watching them very closely,” Trump said.

What we do know is that a lot of firepower is entering the region and that’s not a coincidence:

While Trump didn’t provide details on the deployment, ship spotters and satellite imagery have identified that the Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group (CSG) entered the Malacca Strait earlier this week en route to the Indian Ocean.

This moving of military assets comes after the US President threatened Iran over their killing protesters:

Trump has repeatedly threatened to intervene in Iran with the U.S. military if Tehran continues killing protesters in large waves, although he has said he is hoping to avoid a direct military conflict with the Iranian regime.

The actual number of murdered, injured and arrested protesters isn’t known, but it’s substantial:

The number of confirmed fatalities in Iran since protests began on Dec. 28 has reached nearly 5,000, the organization Human Rights Activists in Iran said on Jan. 21. The civil rights group is still reviewing more than 9,000 death cases and said at least 7,398 people have sustained severe injuries during the protests. The Iranian regime has also arrested more than 26,000 people, the group said on Wednesday.

Trump drew the line in the sand over scheduled executions:

Trump told reporters on Thursday that he warned the Iranian regime that if it went forward with executing more than 800 protesters as previously planned, he would strike the country “harder than you’ve ever been hit.”

He did relent when the executions were stopped and he made it clear they would be hit hard if they went through with them. However, he did throw in those ships sailing toward the region:

“It’ll make what we did to your Iran nuclear look like peanuts. An hour before this horrible thing was going to take place, they canceled it. And they actually said they canceled it. They didn’t postpone it. They canceled it. So, that was a good sign,” Trump said. “But we have an armada. We have a massive fleet heading in that direction. And maybe we won’t have to use it.”

Other Reasons

There are more motives for sending the US ships to the region. Think rebuilding weapons:

Last year, ahead of the Trump administration’s strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, the U.S. military staged a major buildup in the waters around the Islamic nation.

And Trump went on the record that Iran can’t go down that road again without consequences:

Trump told CNBC on Wednesday that Iran cannot pursue a nuclear program or it will risk facing additional U.S. military strikes like the ones it received last year.

He said so in very Trumpian style:

“If they do it, it’s going to happen again,” Trump said. “They have got to stop with the nuclear. ... Can’t let them have it.”

Nuclear watchdogs are wary of Iran doing it again:

The International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog, last verified Iran’s stock of highly enriched uranium roughly seven months ago. The organization recommends monthly updates.

Iran isn’t being open about their current status and that is not a good sign:

The group said Iran must file a report on the status of its nuclear sites after the U.S. strikes last year, including how much of its 440.9 kg of uranium enriched to up to 60 percent purity that is estimated to remain. This is close to roughly 90 percent weapons-grade purity, and if enriched further, could result in 10 nuclear warheads, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Financial shots were already fired and they got a typical response from the Ayatollahs:

Earlier this month, Trump imposed a 25 percent tariff on any nation trading with Iran, effective immediately. Less than a week later, the Iranian regime warned that “any aggression” against its leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, would amount to waging “all-out war” against Tehran.

Saber rattling aside, Iran is front and center in Bible prophecy and their nuclear program is even mentioned as being destroyed in an area not hit back in June of last year by the US. Back then I wondered if Jeremiah 49 was being fulfilled and it wasn’t. Could this be the next prophetic event to play out? I don’t know. But Iran isn’t going anywhere as they will show up in the Ezekiel 38 war of Gog and Magog. As we pray for the peace of Israel, these current events should be added to our intercession for God’s chosen nation and people.