The Sons Of Esau Continue To War (Genesis 27)

Shiites vs Sunnis: A region at war

Israel Hayom

Three important events in the fight between Sunnis and Shiites took place this week, including Pakistan’s announcement that it would respond to any attack on Saudi Arabia • Is the world’s only Muslim nuclear nation about to intervene in the Middle East?

Three very important events took place recently in the Sunni-Shiite battle of titans being waged across the eastern part of the Arab world, the region between Turkey to the north, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Iran in the east.

The most important event is the removal of sanctions from Iran. As part of a process that began when the agreement on its nuclear program was signed, Iran is returning to the world with an American stamp of approval as a regional power. Iranian intellectuals understood this as soon as the interim deal was signed between Iran and the world powers in November 2013 and explained at conferences throughout the world that that recognition was a clear right of the Iranians given their country’s importance, strength, history, and achievements in the region in general and in the nuclear negotiations in particular.

Doubtless, this sense of power and international legitimacy in Iran jumped following the final nuclear deal and the removal of sanctions this week. This means that from now on, Iran will keep growing economically and militarily while living up to the agreement, as least until its economy improves significantly.

During this upcoming period, Iran will behave like a regional power, and anyone who does not accept its status will have to deal with its increasing power and the strength of its emissaries in the region. The American move in making the deal, and its ramifications for Iran’s stature, serve as a kind of proof for the Sunnis of an American decision to align with the Shiite side of the struggle.

Moreover, Sunni heads of state see it an American license, if not an overt one, for Iran to take more aggressive action that will pose a risk to the Sunni world, led by Saudi Arabia.

Pakistan in the service of Saudi Arabia

The second-most important event was the response of the Saudis, who executed a Shiite preacher who was imprisoned after a trial (the sentence was handed down a year and a half ago) to send a clear message to the Iranians, as well as to Saudi Arabia’s own allies in the Sunni world, that they would not give up on their fight against the Iranian Shiites — certainly not when it comes to Iran’s attempts to attack Saudi Arabia’s intactness by stirring up its Shiite minority.

This decision was similar in principle to an earlier Saudi decision to employ force in Yemen and battle against the Houthis, whom the Saudis perceived as agents of Iran.

Saudi Arabia has undoubtedly changed its behavior under its new king, Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud, and steered by his son Mohammed‎ bin Salman, the country’s 30-year-old defense minister. This means that Saudi Arabia is prepared to take risks and pay prices that it was not prepared to pay in the past. In this case, the price of severing relations with Iran,a step the Saudis decided to take after Iranian demonstrators set fire to the Saudi embassy in Tehran in protest over the execution of the Shiite preacher.

Other Sunni states followed, breaking off relations with Iran — the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, and Sudan –– while Egypt, which is receiving substantial economic aid from Saudi Arabia, has not. Sudan, which had former ties to Iran, has actually cut it off entirely.

The Saudis are spearheading a Sunni challenge to the Shiite efforts of the past 35 years, which the Sunnis have thus far been able to check. The results are clear in Iraq and Lebanon, and are the underlying cause of the ongoing war in Syria and the conflict in Yemen.

The third event slipped under the radar of most of the Israeli media. This was an announcement by Pakistan made during a visit to that country by the Saudi defense minister and heir to the throne. The host declared that Pakistan would respond severely to any attack on Saudi Arabia.

This declaration is of utmost importance, since this is the only Muslim country that has nuclear weapons. It is generally accepted that Pakistan has a special obligation to Saudi Arabia in the field of nuclear weapons, because Saudi Arabia funded part of Pakistan’s investment in and development of a nuclear bomb.

Whether or not that is true, the Pakistani threat comprises an interesting development. Thus far, Pakistan’s nuclear weapons have been portrayed as an element of the conflict between Pakistan and India, and now all of a sudden they’re being used in a Middle Eastern context, in a conflict between the Shiite superpower and the entity who wants to be perceived as its Sunni counterpart.

This is a real change in the balance of power throughout the entire Middle East. If Pakistan moves from a one-time declaration to actual intervention in these tussles, the regional balance of power will change, but past experience indicates that they will be very careful about committing themselves.

What will be the ramifications of the intensifying conflict? First, it is quite clear that it will be much harder to deal with the war in Syria properly. That war is not just a civil war between different factions of Syrian society. It is a war between Shiites and Sunnis, with Iran standing behind one side and Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states, and Turkey, to a certain extent, backing the other.

Even if there were some agreement in Syria about peace talks, which is unlikely to happen in the foreseeable future, Iran and Saudi Arabia will not take any steps toward each other, so the Syria war will continue. The Iranians will also seek out Saudi Arabia’s soft underbelly, probably via the many Shiites in Saudi Arabia and in some Gulf states, and the Saudis will respond with all their strength, mainly through economic and other forms of aid to anyone in the Middle East who opposes the Shiites.

The Saudis’ success in winning Sudan’s heart and removing it from Iran’s circle of influence should be noted and is very important, to Israel as well, because Sudan was a key stop on the weapons smuggling route from Iran to the Gaza Strip.

The very possibility that a nuclear nation will join this bitter struggle raises serious questions and concerns about the consequences of a possible deterioration, since it’s very hard to control endless battles colored by religion.

Pakistan moving its attention to the heart of the Middle East does not bode well for an already complex and conflicted region. A Pakistani change like this one, if it is not a one-time case of lip service for its Saudi friend, could make the regional reality even more complicated and could eventually turn out to be very influential for the region. In the meantime, it appears to be a one-time event, not a turning point, even if it is important in and of itself. It will be necessary to keep constant tabs on whether Pakistan is headed toward that kind of direct intervention.

The lesson Israel should learn from all these recent events is clear: Israel must not be drawn into such a complex and deep-running battle as the intra-Islamic conflict between Shiites and Sunnis, or between the Arabs and Persians in the Gulf region. Israel must take care to safeguard its own interests, including taking a risk if force should be exerted, but after great consideration, without arrogance, and with precision.

Esau Strikes Back At Jacob (Genesis 27)

US issues travel warning following terror attacks

Empty tables are seen at a restaurant on the Grand Place in Brussels, Monday, Nov. 23, 2015. The Belgian capital Brussels has entered its third day of lockdown, with schools and underground transport shut and more than 1,000 security personnel deployed across the country.(AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The State Department is alerting Americans to the possible risks of travel due to increased terrorist threats around the world.

A travel alert issued on Monday says current information suggests that Islamic State militants, al-Qaida, Boko Haram (BOH’-koh hah-RAHM’) and other terrorist groups continue to plan attacks in multiple regions. U.S. authorities say the likelihood of terror attacks will continue as members of IS return from Syria and Iraq, and others not affiliated with terror groups engage in violence on their own.

Extremists have attacked in France, Nigeria, Denmark, Turkey and Mali and IS has claimed responsibility for bombing a Russian airliner in Egypt.

U.S. citizens are advised to be vigilant in public places and on transportation and avoid large crowds, including holiday events or festivals.

The Nuclear End (Revelation 15)

Nuclear Nightmares Give Way To A New Terror, Seen On Paris Streets

November 14, 2015 8:26 AM ET

Scott Simon

Mourners arrange candles at the gate of the French Embassy in Berlin. Hundreds of people came throughout the day to lay flowers, candles and messages of condolence to mourn the victims of attacks Friday night in Paris.

Millions of people grew up in a time when we had nuclear nightmares. We worried that a few huge bombs might blow up the world, and we rehearsed how we should hide below our school desks if sirens ever sounded.

They’d test those civil defense sirens every Tuesday morning in Chicago; I’ve heard of other times in other cities. In time, they became just one more city sound, like the screech of a subway train or the flapping of pigeon wings. But every now and then, the siren could make you think, and chill a sunny morning. They could sound like small, mournful screams to remind us that we’d been born into a world that could disappear in a flash.

We couldn’t see what frightened us; maybe that’s often the way. The menace was overseas, in the skies, out of our hands. Powerful men were thought to hold our destiny in theirs, but we believed what held them back from pressing a button — the single button we thought would unleash a fireball — was what was pretty candidly called MAD: mutually assured destruction. Presidents, premiers and generals didn’t want to die any more than ordinary citizens.

Children don’t have to go through nuclear war drills now. We don’t think of our world disappearing in a flash. But in our times, almost anywhere, it’s hard not to think about the world being blinded by a thousand different flashes that take people by surprise as they go about their daily lives. In fact, terror depends on people being surprised as they laugh, walk, listen to music, talk to one another, walk the dog, or sip a coffee. And you may wonder: What can deter the kinds of people who wear suicide vests or rake crowds with bullets, if they are as uncaring about their own deaths as others?

The targets of terrorism don’t tend to be strategic military objectives. The language of our times calls them “soft targets.” Near as I can tell, this simply means targets that are as soft as our own flesh — like the people we saw in the blinking lights of emergency vehicles in Paris over these past few hours, and we’ve seen in recent years from New York to London, Mumbai and Nairobi: commuters, shoppers, concertgoers, laughing families, schoolkids, partiers and vacationers. Mothers, children, uncles and friends. Innocents.

This WILL Be A Religious War (Genesis 27)

SHOCK POLL: 81% OF AL JAZEERA ARABIC POLL RESPONDENTS SUPPORT ISLAMIC STATE

Breitbart  

by JORDAN SCHACHTEL25 May 2015

In a recent survey conducted by AlJazeera.net, the website for the Al Jazeera Arabic television channel, respondents overwhelmingly support the Islamic State terrorist group, with 81% voting “YES” on whether they approved of ISIS’s conquests in the region.

The poll, which asked in Arabic, “Do you support the organizing victories of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS)?” has generated over 38,000 responses thus far, with only 19% of respondents voting “NO” to supporting ISIS.

Fulfilling The Prophecy Of Esau (Gen 27)

 

Top Khamenei Advisor: We Have Divine
Permission to Destroy Israel

MAY 12, 2015 6:36 PM
An official close to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei asserted that his government has a godly ordained right to annihilate Israel, Al Arabiya reported on Tuesday.
The “government of the Islamic Republic of Iran has divine permission to destroy Israel,” said Mojtaba Zolnour, a Khamenei representative in the elite Revolutionary Guards.

According to semi-official state news agency Fars, Zolnour said that, “the Noble Koran permits the Islamic Republic of Iran to destroy Israel.” He added that, “Even if Iran gives up its nuclear program, it will not weaken this country’s determination to destroy Israel.”

This is by no means the first time that Iranian political or military officials have threatened Israel with destruction.

Iran has raised the specter of “wiping Israel out of existence,” since Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini seized power in the country in 1979. Khomeini’s animosity towards Israel was based on an ideological and religious opposition to Zionism, amplified by the challenge Israel’s military and economic strength posed to Iranian regional expansionism.

Perhaps most famously, former Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad repeatedly called for Israel to be “wiped off the map” in a 2005 speech that he gave. More recently, in late March 2015, General Mohammad Reza Naqdi, the commander of Iran’s Basij militia – a volunteer paramilitary organization under the command of the IRGC – said that, “wiping Israel off the map is not up for negotiation.”

Iran also actively finances and militarily backs proxy terrorist groups Hamas and Hezbollah that are ideologically opposed to Israel’s existence.

The Islamic Revolution: Esau Breaks Jacob’s Yoke (Genesis 27)

Supreme Leader: Islamic Revolution Stood against Imperialism



Al-Manar
Local Editor

Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution of Iran Grand Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei The Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution of Iran Grand Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei said that the recent Iranian scientific advances have been achieved thanks to martyrdom for the sake of Allah.
During a message published Thursday, and delivered when his eminence received members of the secretariats of Congress of Educational Martyrs, Congress of University Student Martyrs and Congress of Artist Martyrs, Ayatollah Khamenei said the elites’ effective contribution to the Sacred Defense has exemplified the fact that the heavenly motivation to “sacrifice for the sake of Allah” had been deeply rooted in the multitudes of the pious.

He emphasized on the necessity of honoring the martyrs and reviving their valuable and beloved memories.

“The sessions to honor martyrs are in fact to perpetuate their path; their lifestyle and memories should be sought as a public way of finding virtues of their life in society,” the Supreme Leader said.

Ayatollah Khamenei brought a historical example of the early decades of Islamic history to compare between the today’s martyrs and the life of Imam Hussein (AS) and his epic campaign in saving and protecting Islam, Quran, and Islamic tradition and teachings.

“Any society which finds martyrdom as an everlasting truth, would not accept defeat. And that nation would move in its path toward progression without any fear and qualms,” asserted the Leader.

His eminence praised ‘the great feat’ by Iranian great nation as rejecting the division of the world to two categories of dominated and dominant.

“Rather, our nation brought to the scene an identity called Islamic Identity, which courageously stands against the imperialism drawing upon Godly and moral principles,” he said, adding that “this is despite the fact that the colonial powers still have continued to dominate over the downtrodden and oppressed of the world through many mechanisms available.

Source: IRNA

Israel Stating The Obvious: The Prophecy (Genesis 27)

Israel to US: Emerging nuclear deal allows Iran to dominate Middle East

MIDDLE EAST By JPOST.COM STAFF \ 02/21/2015 16:39

Israel’s disagreements with the Obama administration over the parameters of an emerging agreement between the West and Iran have been known for years, but are only beginning to manifest in a public way as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech to Congress is just weeks away, Strategic Affairs and Intelligence Minister Yuval Steinitz told The Washington Post over the weekend.
Steinitz articulated his government’s position that the agreement being discussed does not adequately safeguard against an Iranian “breakout” to the bomb should the Tehran regime decide to sprint toward building an atomic weapon.

“From the very beginning, we made it clear we had reservations about the goal of the negotiations,” Steinitz told the newspaper’s chief foreign affairs analyst, David Ignatius. “We thought the goal should be to get rid of the Iranian nuclear threat, not verify or inspect it.”

The deal being discussed would leave Iran with the capability to develop an atomic device within a year while also enabling it to continue enriching uranium at high quantities, a prospect that Israel opposes.

Steinitz said that while he understood Washington’s desire to reach an agreement that would keep Iran’s nuclear program on stand-by for at least a decade – enough time for a new leadership to emerge – this approach presented serious challenges.

“You’re saying, okay, in 10 or 12 years Iran might be a different country,” Steinitz said. “[This is] dangerous” since it fails to take into account the fact that the regime is “thinking like an old-fashioned superpower.”

“To believe that in the next decade there will be a democratic change in leadership and that Iran won’t threaten the US or Israel anymore, I think this is too speculative,” the minister told The Washington Post.

Steinitz said that Israel initially believed that the Iranians would only be permitted to enrich a symbolic amount of uranium, but when the Netanyahu administration got word that the agreement being discussed would leave Iran in possession of thousands of centrifuges, it decided to escalate its rhetoric against the negotiations.

With the West bogged down with other crises, the Iranians could take advantage and “sneak out” of the agreement by quickly developing a bomb, Steinitz said. With the verification mechanisms stipulated by the agreement, it would already be too late for the Americans to catch Iran in the act.

“Iran is part of the problem and not part of the solution,” Steinitz said, before adding, “unless you think Iran dominating the Middle East is the solution.”

Esau Intent On Breaking Jacob’s Yoke (Genesis 27:40)

Khamenei Calls for Muslim Unity for Israel’s ‘Annihilation’

By Ari Yashar

First Publish: 10/3/2014, 1:29 PM

 

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Friday used his annual message to Hajj pilgrims heading to Mecca to insult Israel and call for its “annihilation.”

The speech comes ahead of Eid al-Adha on Friday, the Muslim holiday celebrating Abraham’s “sacrifice of Ishmael” in an appropriation of the original Torah story, and like his speech for Eid al-Fitr in July was replete with unfounded barbs hurled against the Jewish state.

“The conspiring enemy is aiming to stoke the fire of a civil strife among Muslims, to misdirect the motivation for resistance and jihad and to secure the Zionist regime and the servants of Arrogance (America – ed.) – who are the real enemies,” said Khamenei referencing the bloody conflicts rocking the Muslim world.

Calling for Muslim unity against Israel, the same Friday that Arab MK Ibrahim Sarsour (Ra’am-Ta’al) called for the establishment of the “United Islamic States” and bashed Israel as being “crueler than ISIS (Islamic State).”

Khamenei likewise accused Israel of having “no limit or boundaries regarding viciousness, cruelty, and trampling underfoot all human standards and ethnics. Crimes, genocide, mass destruction, the killing of children, women and the homeless…they take pride in.”

The statement is ironic given Iran’s horrific human rights history; just this Monday it was reported that an Iranian psychologist was executed for “heresy” after eight years in prison, and on Wednesday Iran was to execute a woman who defended herself from rape.

Khamenei continued “contrary to the idiotic dreams of power and stability for this regime that the filthy officials of the Zionist regime dream, day-by-day this regime has moved closer to implosion and annihilation.”

In response, Khamenei called for the Islamic Jihad and Hamas terrorist groups in Gaza to “reinvigorate their endeavor, determination and resolve…Muslim nations should require their governments to lend real and serious support to Palestine.”

Iran supplied Hamas with rockets used in its recent terror war on Israel, and is continuing to develop its nuclear program even while engaged in nuclear talks with world powers.

Khamenei back in January publicly revealed that the negotiations with the US about Iran’s nuclear program are merely a tactic to stall international pressure and gain time to continue nuclear development.