In a disturbing recent admission, U.S. intelligence officials now believe that the country of Iran may have formed and placed sleeper cells of terrorists inside the United States. The exact identity of these individuals is unknown and while many may be Iranian nationals, it is thought that the bulk of the terrorists were drawn from the Hezbollah terror group and likely slipped in under the guise of legal visitors and asylum seekers fleeing the lingering civil war in Syria. U.S. intelligence officials believe that such sleeper cells would be activated by Iran to carry out attacks and strikes including attempting to influence political campaigns, targeted assassination, crippling cyberattacks, and other terrorist attacks. Earlier this year U.S. intelligence officials reported the discovery of Iranian intrusions into the computer systems controlling the electric grid, power plants, and numerous healthcare and technology companies. Speaking to reporters, a member of the House Homeland Security Committee, U. S. Congressman Peter King (R., NY) stated that Iran poses “a direct threat to the homeland.”
Strait of Hormuz Threatened With Closure
King explained that “Iranian support for Hezbollah, is active in the Middle East, Latin America, and here in the US, where Hezbollah operatives have been arrested for activities conducted in our own country.” King added that, “Hezbollah is probably the most experienced and professional terrorist organization in the world.” This news comes as the Iranian economy is beginning to experience some of the effects of the recently imposed sanctions. Because of these sanctions Iran has been exercising a greater measure of control over the Strait of Hormuz that allows roughly 20 percent of the world’s oil to move through the Persian Gulf. Fox News reported that Iranian officials recently threatened to block the waterway in retaliation for any hostile action by the U.S. government. According to Reuters, U.S. officials desire to economically isolate Iran and reduce its oil exports – one of the few regime-saving industries – to zero. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei reportedly said that if Iran isn’t being allowed to export its oil, then no country in the region will be allowed to export oil from the Gulf. This event comes on the heels of an earlier exchange between the Iranian and American Presidents in which the Iranian President Rouhani said the U.S. risks the “mother of all wars" with Iran. U.S. President Trump warned Iran would “suffer the consequences the like of which few throughout history have ever suffered before.”
Relevant Bible Passages
As the rhetoric and tensions between the United States and Iran continues to increase, we cannot help but be reminded of numerous scriptural passages. Daniel and Jesus both warned of continual wars and rumors of wars until the return of Christ (Daniel 9:26; Matthew 24:6). The Old Testament prophet Joel also fearfully predicted that the citizens of the world would be engaged in such a great degree of warfare that they would need to turn their everyday tools into weapons of war (Joel 3:9,10). With the threat of Iran taking down the electric grid within the United States and cutting off 20% of the world’s oil trade, the grim predictions of the prophet Joel no longer seem so difficult to imagine. With such potential for tensions to escalate we should be in serious prayer.