by Leonard V Johnson
The grave situation in Iran is getting more critical ──
01/12/2026Iran protests: Death toll rises to over 540 — activistsProtests challenging the regime have continued in defiance of a clampdown by Iran's clerical rulers.What you need to know• Mass anti-government protests in Iran are in their third week despite what activists call a ‘brutal’ clampdown …• At least 496 protesters and 48 members of security forces have been killed, according to a US-based rights group …• Tehran warns that US troops and Israel will be targets if the United States strikes• Iranians are cut off from the world amid an internet blackout that has been in place for over 60 hours• Reports are emerging of hospitals being ‘overwhelmed.’11/01/2026Iran cracks down on protests and threatens US and Israel of retaliation in case of interventionWashington and Tel Aviv reportedly discussed the possibility of US intervention in Iran, as Tehran warns for retaliation. Meanwhile, Iran’s nationwide internet blackout crosses the 60-hour mark, as the death toll rises …Tehran warned that US troops and Israel would be “legitimate targets” if the US strikes Iran, as President Donald Trump reiterated US support for Iranian protesters.“In the event of a military attack by the United States, both the occupied territory* (Israel) and centers of the US military and shipping will be our legitimate targets,” Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said, speaking in parliament on Sunday.[*] Iran does not recognize Israel and considers it occupied Palestinian territory.US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed in a phone call on Saturday the possibility of US intervention in Iran, according to German magazine Der Spiegel.The warning comes after US President Donald Trump reiterated Washington is willing to step up to protect peaceful demonstrators.
These “rulers through violence” in Iran know that US President Donald Trump is more than capable and willing to annihilate their terroristic regime.
Notice what the Trump-Vance Administration did recently in Syria to the terrorist group the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) ──
January 11, 2026US launches new retaliatory strikes against IS in Syria after deadly ambushThe U.S. has launched another round of retaliatory strikes against the Islamic State group in Syria following last month’s ambush that killed two U.S. soldiers and one American civilian interpreter in the country.The large-scale strikes, conducted by the U.S. alongside partner forces, occurred around 12:30 p.m. ET (1730 GMT) Saturday, according to the U.S. Central Command. The strikes hit multiple IS targets across Syria. …Syria recently joined the global coalition against the IS.
Under the new leadership of Syria, President Ahmed al-Sharaa, Syria has improved its relations with the United States. It has agreed in its cooperation on counterterrorism, barring foreign fighters from senior government roles, assisting U.S. efforts to find and attack terrorist organizations ── including Hezbollah and al-Qaeda.
The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), along with its supporters and all other terrorist extremist groups, desire to annihilate … well, relying on Islamic texts, a “commitment to returning civilization to a seventh-century legal environment, and ultimately to bringing about the apocalypse.” 1
As the world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism, Iran continues to provide support that enables terrorist organizations to continue fighting! And Iran has threatened to fight!
So, there are the Shia Islamist terrorist groups Hezbollah and the Houthis, along with the Sunni terrorist group Hamas ──
11 January 2026Huckabee: Overturning Iran’s regime would be ‘end of Hamas, Hezbollah and Houthis.’US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee says that the ousting of the Iranian regime would also mean the end of the Iran-backed terror groups Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis.“Should the Iranian people choose to end over 46 years of hateful & incompetent rule, it could restore the Persian culture of education, art, music, and strength and the end of Hamas, Hezbollah, and Houthis,” Huckabee writes on his X account.
Of course, none of those evil and vile terrorist groups wants to end.
Hezbollah has long hated Israel ── and has longed for revenge since the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) detonated the terrorist group’s pagers across Lebanon last year (See: Reuters – Hezbollah vows to punish Israel after pager explosions across Lebanon). That operation was a most sophisticated and extraordinary feat of espionage!
With that said, notice the Gulf Insider ──
Wednesday, Sep 18, 2024War Preparations Build After 9 Killed, 2700+ Wounded In Israel’s Pager Attack On HezbollahOfficial Lebanese Health Ministry figures are that nine people were killed in the simultaneous pager explosions, including a young girl, and some 2,750 were wounded. The Lebanese government has identified “Israeli aggression” as being behind the attack, while Hezbollah also says it holds Israel “fully responsible”. Israel has yet to issue an official comment, but there are several reports from the region that war preparations are underway. There are reports of evening Israeli shelling of Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon.Israel’s Channel 14 is reporting that “senior Israeli military officials are preparing for a third Hezbollah war, which is expected to begin almost immediately.” The US State Department has said the US “was not aware of this operation and was not involved” in the attack. The Biden administration says it is “still gathering information.”The WSJ has offered some initial details on the sophisticated attack, which Lebanese and Arabs have condemned as a major ‘terror attack’. “The affected pagers were from a new shipment that the group received in recent days, people familiar with the matter said,” WSJ writes. “A Hezbollah official said hundreds of fighters had such devices, speculating that malware may have caused the devices to explode. The official said some people felt the pagers heat up and disposed of them before they burst.” …Israeli media says Mossad rigged the pager batteries of a shipment that was imported five months ago:The Israeli spy agency placed a quantity of PETN, a highly explosive material, on the batteries of the devices, and detonated them by raising the temperature of the batteries from afar, the source says.There are initial reports that more European airlines have begun cancelling flights to Lebanon and Israel amid more headlines of war plans. Lebanese schools and colleges have announced widespread closures tomorrow.
Biblically, Iran may indeed launch an attack that will cause “great” damage to the city of David ── Jerusalem ── as foretold in the dual prophecy of Isaiah 22:6-9.
Now, there are some, like Mohammad Reza Farzanegan of the Middle East Eye, that are asserting that the protests in Iran are not a ‘regime collapse’ story but rather are against the USA (Mohammad Farzanegan’s research focuses on the political economy of sanctions, conflict, corruption, and natural resources, among other topics. His projects follow a theory-based, empirical approach, employing quantitative methods to identify causal effects) 2 ──
2 January 2026 …Iranian protests are not for ‘regime change’ but for relief from US economic warIn Washington and Tel Aviv, the narrative being pushed is one of a “regime on the brink”, where economic failure is framed as a precursor to total collapse.However, my empirical research with other colleagues suggests a far more complex reality.What we are witnessing is not a political revolution, but the desperate gasps of a society whose economic buffer, the middle class, has been systematically hollowed out by an inhumane, punitive policy of international isolation.The US weaponization of the global financial system, imposing the “maximum pressure” campaign and targeting Iran’s oil exports, has effectively hit at the life savings of every Iranian teacher, nurse, and small business owner. …The Iranians currently in the streets are not asking for their country to be dismantled; they are asking for the restoration of their dignity, for economic relief, and for an end to the collective punishment that has hollowed out their lives.The tragedy of the current US-Israeli strategy is that it has destroyed the very segment of society, the middle class, most capable of pushing for a stable, reformist, and less confrontational future.(https://www.middleeasteye.net/opinion/iranians-are-protesting-economic-relief-not-regime-change. Bold and highlighted emphasis mine.)
And as far as that “bold and highlighted emphasis,” I say, “Touché!”
The Iranian people have gotten more and more desperate. And certainly, the “rulers through violence” in Iran are going to get more desperate to hang onto their power.
The Iranian president has declared war against the United States of America, the European Union, and Israel. (See: Politico – Iran at war with the West and Israel, says Iran's president).
Sadly, many religious groups’ position that Iran is the final ‘king of the South’ is wrong. A great many religious groups hold to a wrong prophetic interpretation, and they lather, rinse, and repeat this false interpretation.
Here ── as far as the final ‘king of the South,’ check out our free no-obligation PDF booklet “Prophecy Series – the Last Crusade” by Minister Michael C Garrett.
Minister Michael C. Garrett writes ──
“If you would, turn to Verse 40 [Daniel 11] King James English– “’ And at the time of the end shall the king of the South push at him: and the king of the North shall come against him like a whirlwind, with chariots, and with horsemen, and with many ships; and he shall enter into the countries, and shall overflow and pass over.’” – you know, with the phrase from the King James Version, “push at him,” the people of the Church has wrestled with that, some have said, “Well, that will be a future oil embargo.” Maybe. Or, something this, something that. Well, I’m going to offer you an idea today that you may have never thought of. And this is just a thought – just a possibility. And with time, we’ll know. But I’m asking you to sort of consider the possibility. What if this ‘pushing’ of this Islamic confederation at the king of the North – what if it were indeed attacked by Islamic terrorists upon Israel, Britain, and the United States? You know, we really don’t appreciate the fact that Europe really is our ally! And we have close ties with them! And I know in the old days, there was always this idea that Europe and the United States would come to hate each other! However, I’m not sure if that is necessarily true. I’m just offering this as an idea – what if this ‘pushing’ were a series of Islamic terrorist nuclear explosions, electromagnetic pulse weapons, explosions that would wipe out our infrastructure? And what if then, the Islamists said, “Europe, now we’re coming after you!” Maybe that is the pushing, maybe that is the threat? But we do know for sure – it says the king of the North will come against him with powerful military forces! Verse 41 – “’ He shall also enter the Glorious Land, …’” – meaning, the Middle East, meaning Jerusalem. “…’ And many countries shall be overthrown, but these shall escape from his hand: …’” – it specifically says that Edom (which we believe to be Turkey), Moab (which we believe is sort of Syria and Iraq), and the chief of the children of Ammon (or Jordan). It says these people will not first incur the wrath of Europe! And so back in the old days, the ministers and college professors liked to talk about this future invasion coming down through Greece or Turkey. But many of their crusades came by land and by sea. However, it says they will not come down through Greece or Turkey, but instead, Verse 42 – “’ He shall stretch out his hand against the countries, and the land of Egypt shall not escape.’”[We] think this implies that the invasion of the Middle East by the European power will be across the Mediterranean and onto the shores of Egypt.”
The nation of Iran is NOT the prophesied final ‘king of the South.’ That is something from the imagination of a great many religious groups. Their views and ideas, their understanding, are not from the living word of God!
We in the Church of Jesus Christ Online Ministries do not believe that Iran will be the final ‘king of the South’ that God’s word speaks about in prophecy (cf. Daniel 11:40-43). We have stated before that we tend to believe that Iran will somehow get “neutralized” before a final ‘king’ rises. We have been warning that a great conflict with Israel (through a nuclear attack or electromagnetic pulse weapon, or a huge barrage of missiles, as they’ve used many times) will result in the nation of Israel being viciously struck by Iran, damaging enough militarily that the EU will get involved. And that… at this ‘latter day’, a final Catholic-led “United States of Europe” will ‘come against a final Confederation of Islamic countries (the final ‘king of the South’) like a whirlwind!’ No later than 2017, we have spoken of this (See: Garrett, M., Notes Regarding the Day of Atonement – Prophetically the Day of the Lord. PDF book online, created May 19, 2019).
The nation of Iran could be “neutralized” by internal unrest and or a regional war involving Israel. □
2 HIAS-Hamburg, Mohammad Reza Farzanegan, Economics of the Middle East, Philipps-Universität Marburg, March-May 2026.
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