It Will End

So many pundits scream over and over again about US President Donald Trump getting the US into another quagmire in Iran and point to the 20 years spent in Afghanistan and 9 years spent in Iraq as their prime examples. But in his speech last night Trump assured everyone that this offensive won’t be like that as we’re told in a report from the Jewish News Syndicate:

The U.S.-Israel military campaign against Iran could conclude within two to three weeks as the “core strategic objectives” are near completion, President Donald Trump said on Wednesday.

“Never in the history of warfare has an enemy suffered such clear and devastating large-scale losses in a matter of weeks. Our enemies are losing and America, as it has been for five years under my presidency, is winning and now winning bigger than ever before,” Trump said in an address to the nation from the White House.

Trump noted as only he can what will happen in those weeks:

“We are going to hit them extremely hard over the next two to three weeks; we’re going to bring them back to the Stone Age, where they belong,” he vowed.

He then said that the people he’s talking with are totally different than the regime they attacked at the start:

Trump stressed that his administration did not seek regime change in Iran, but that has already transpired after its original leaders were killed.

Many people like me are still leery of anyone leftover from the current Ayatollahs being any better so caution is advised. That might be a moot point as Trump went on to say what would happen if no settlement is achieved:

He threatened that if an agreement is not reached, “we are going to hit each and every one of their electric generating plants very hard and probably simultaneously. We have not hit their oil even though that’s the easiest target of all, because it would not give them even a small chance of survival or rebuilding. But we could hit it and it would be gone, and there’s not a thing they can do about it.”

And he’s right. In spite of all the loud words coming from the remnants of the current regime Iran is a shell of itself after a month of relentless pounding by the US and Israel.

Goals Being Met

Another line of attack from those who reflexively oppose anything Trump does is that the US went into this fight without clear objectives. But that isn’t true and President Trump then talked about the major goal they wanted to accomplish:

Trump reiterated his rationale for initiating “Operation Epic Fury” against Iran, saying that from day one when he launched his campaign for president in 2015, he avowed that he would never allow the Islamic Republic to have a nuclear weapon.

“This fanatical regime has been chanting ‘Death to America, Death to Israel’ for 47 years,” and has been killing Americans for decades, the president said.

The clear implication is that threat is gone. He then gave a brief history of how we got to this point:

He placed blame on Iran for the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel’s northwestern Negev and for slaughtering “45,000 of its own people” who protested in the streets of Iran in February.

“For these terrorists to have nuclear weapons would be an intolerable threat,” he stressed.

And he rightly stated that Iran should have been dealt with by now. Trump went on to say that Iran really brought this on themselves:

The Iranians have stubbornly refused to compromise on their nuclear aspirations, which prompted his decision to bomb their nuclear facilities in “Operation Midnight Hammer” in June, the American leader added.

To those who said Iran posed no imminent threat, Trump countered that his intel knew better:

Iran’s “strategy was so obvious. They wanted to produce as many missiles as possible [that can reach any location on earth] … so no one would dare stop them,” Trump continued. They were “right at the doorstep” of attaining nuclear weapons, he said.

He went on to say that Iran’s military abilities are all but gone:

Now the Iranian “navy is gone, their air force is gone, their missiles are just about used up or beaten. Taken together these actions will cripple Iran militarily, crush their ability to support terrorist proxies and deny them the ability to build a nuclear bomb,” he added.

Making Things Strait

That wasn’t a typo but a lame attempt at a pun, but I digress. Trump took time to address the threat Iran poses to controlling the Strait of Hormuz, but had kind words for the help countries that are supporters against Iran:

Trump thanked America’s allies in the Middle East, “Israel, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE, Kuwait and Bahrain—they’ve been great and we will not let them get hurt or fail in any way, shape or form.”

Trump let those complaining about higher gas prices that it won’t last long for two reasons:

Addressing the rising gas prices domestically in light of the war and Iranian closure of the Strait of Hormuz, Trump said that this was a temporary hike and that the United States does not need energy commodities that flow through the Mideast waterway. In light of Washington’s new relationship with Caracas that incorporates an energy partnership, America has ended its dependence on oil and natural gas in the Middle East, he said.

“And yet we are there [in the Mideast] to help. We don’t have to be there, we don’t need their oil, we don’t need anything they have but we’re there to help our allies,” he added.

The US president then challenged those who need oil through there to do their part:

“The countries of the world that do receive oil through the Hormuz Strait must take care of that passage. They must cherish it. Grab it and cherish it. They can do it easily. We will be helpful but they should take the lead in protecting the oil that they so desperately depend on,” Trump said.

He stated that the US is open for business when it comes to oil:

He called on those nations to buy oil from America, as “we have plenty. And number two, build up some delayed courage—should have done it before, should have done it with us—go to the Strait and just take it. Protect it. Use it for yourselves. Iran has been essentially decimated. The hard part is done so it should be easy.”

He reiterated that the high oil prices will come down and the stock market will rebound:

The president said that when the conflict ends, the passageway will “naturally” open up as Iran will seek to export oil to rehabilitate its economy. “The gas prices will rapidly come back down and stock prices will rapidly go back up,” he added.

I would be remiss to not point out that this is not just about oil, missiles, or military strategy. It is also about a region the Bible told us to watch, a nation under pressure, and a world moving one step closer to prophetic fulfillment. When you read Ezekiel 38–39, Daniel 10–12, Zechariah 12, you begin to see why so many believers are paying attention. And that is why the clock ticking for Iran should get everyone’s attention. And it also reminds us to do what Luke 21:28 tells us to do:

 So when all these things begin to happen, stand straight and look up! For your salvation is near. (TLB)