Iranian Regime Strengthens Grip on Power While IDF Continues Preparations for Attack

By Chris Schang

Welcome to this edition of the Rapture Report. Today we will examine the latest situation regarding the recent Iranian elections and examine the latest news coming out of Israel. As many of you know there was considerable and widespread unrest in Iran as the result of the recent Iranian elections. There have been both calls for a full re-count as well as a re-vote of the votes. Despite the Iranian election authority previously finding numerous irregularities in the votes they did re-count, they nonetheless somehow decided that there was no need to re-count all the votes. To me, that sounds rather fishy and I think the Iranian people believe so as well. I would guess that the supreme ruler of Iran had something to do with the results being finalized despite what some termed the "mini-revolution" that we saw on the Iranian streets days after the election. The ruling regime in Iran is frantically trying to hold onto their control of the country despite the worst public protests in decades.

It was reported today in the Haaretz newspaper that Iran's top legislative body is making a final confirmation of the disputed election results. The newspaper reported:

Iran's top legislative body on Monday confirmed President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's victory in the contested June 12 presidential recount. The Guardian Council's official recount of the votes found that no irregularities in the election which brought about the largest protest on Iranian streets since the 1979 revolution. Protesters have claimed that the vote was imbued with massive fraud, but the legislative body has insisted that it was legitimate.

The Iranian opposition candidates have at this time refused a re-count and have demanded the elections be completely annulled. I, for one, can't blame them. How can you admit that there were irregularities in the vote while at the same time saying there weren't any irregularities. To me, all of this is simply a sleight of hand by the ruling regime and I think they are hoping all of this opposition to their rule will quietly die down. For their part they are harshly cracking down on public demonstrations and riots as seen by this Haaretz newspaper article:

Riot police clashed with up to 3,000 protesters near a mosque in north Tehran on Sunday, using tear gas and truncheons to break up Iran's first post-election demonstration in five days, witnesses said. Witnesses told The Associated Press that some protesters fought back, chanting: Where is my vote? They said others described scenes of brutality - including the alleged police beating of an elderly woman - in the clashes around the Ghoba Mosque.

While these clashes occurred on Sunday it is being reported that some areas of northern Iran are under some sort of resemblance to quasi-martial law as seen from one of the previous reported articles:

Witnesses said an atmosphere of quasi-martial law had descended on northern Tehran, as police officers, riot police and large numbers of security forces took up positions. In addition mobile phone networks were blocked again as of midday. Text-messaging systems have been blocked in the country for more than 18 days, since the crisis over the disputed presidential election began on June 13.

As we can see here the ruling regime is putting out all the stops to keep the unrest at bay. How long they can do so remains to be seen, but I would imagine that ultimately the ruling regime will prevail. As a sign of that, there have been some reports that about 70 different "academics" had suddenly disappeared" in Iran as a result of the ruling regime's crackdown. The article stated:

Iran is continuing its crackdown on dissidents protesting irregularities in the country's presidential elections with the arrest of 70 academics who met on Wednesday with challenger Mir Hossein Mousavi. The Kalemeh web site, which is linked to Mousavi's campaign, reported that it was not known where the professors were taken. Other prominent dissidents, as well as at least 10 foreign journalists and some 26 Iranian reporters, have "disappeared" in a similar manner in recent days.

All of these things do not sound good for the Iranian opposition. I believe we will have to keep watching the situation in Iran to see where it is headed, but it would appear to me that the ruling regime will have the final say one way or another. Also, current Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was on record the other day saying that his 2nd term as president would be much "tougher" on the West. The Israel National News website is reporting:

The Obama administration's criticism of the Iranian crackdown on dissent following the June 12 election shows its offer of talks on Iran's nuclear program isn't genuine, said Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad during a speech in which he vowed to take a tougher approach toward the West in his second term....Ahmadinejad said that "the government will have a more powerful and decisive approach in the new term," and lashed out at Western leaders calling them "the arrogants."

In other news, it is being reported that the Israel Air Force is currently upgrading their F-15's for long distance attack missions. The Israel National News is reporting:

The Israel Air Force's F-15 fleet is undergoing an upgrade, with systems that make it better equipped for complex long distance attack scenarios. The systems are being installed in both the F-15 and the F-15I - a model of the F-15 that was developed by its U.S. manufacturer specifically for the IAF. According to IDF journal BaMachaneh, the F-15I model is currently being fitted with two new systems - one called "Barad Pelada" ("Steel Hail"), and another named Lightning.

The article also went on to quote IDF Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi as saying:

"The reelection of Iran's president, his grave utterances regarding his will to harm the state of Israel and Iran's continual effort to achieve unconventional weapons require us to maintain an army that is coiled and ready to spring into action, and an Air Force that is skilled and sharp as a razor, that will stand up to any enemy and remove any threat from our citizens and residents," IDF Chief of Staff Lt.-Gen. Gabi Ashkenazi said Thursday in an IAF ceremony for new pilots at the Hatzerim Air Force Base.

Folks, I believe these comments are very important in that it shows that while the ruling regime in Iran is starting to possibly regain control over Iran, the IDF is continuing to make the necessary preparations to strike Iran's nuclear program should the nuclear program issue fail to be resolved by diplomatic means. I believe an Israeli strike on Iran has the potential to escalate the prophetic situation on the ground leading us to potential Bible prophecy fulfillments. There are a good many Bible teachers today that are starting to believe that the prophecies of Psalm 83, Isaiah 17, and Ezekiel 38-39 could be lurking just down the prophetic road. Whether they do or not remains to be seen, but students of Bible prophecy should continue to focus on being watchmen on the wall as we see the prophetic puzzle pieces moving into place. With events pointing to conflict coming soon down the road, believers should heed the words of the Lord and "look up, for your redemption draws nigh"!!

I hope this Rapture Report has been a blessing for you as it has been for me to write it. Let us keep watching and praying for the soon return of our Lord Jesus Christ.

God bless.

Related News