Tony PearceThoughts on the War in Iran
On 28 February 2026, US President Trump announced the launch of a joint US-Israeli military operation, dubbed “Epic Fury”, against Iran. Within 24 hours, the attack had resulted in the assassination of Iranian Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, along with several of his senior aides, and the destruction of numerous military and security bases and installations. President Trump suggested in a recorded address at the outset of the operation that its broader aim is to bring about regime change in Iran. On March 14th Trump claimed victory, saying he had destroyed Iran’s air force, navy, its underground missile silos and nuclear sites and decapitated much of its leadership. He is putting out terms for Iran’s unconditional surrender, with a promise to rebuild Iran and make it “economically bigger, better, and stronger than ever before” after it picked “acceptable” new leadership.
As I write this article on 21 March there is no sign of this victory. Iran has hit back, intensifying its attacks on oil and natural gas facilities around the Gulf, raising the stakes in a war that is sending shock waves through the global economy.
The strikes sent fuel prices soaring, as they draw Iran’s Arab neighbours directly into the conflict. Iran’s targeting of energy production further stressed global supplies already under pressure because of its stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic waterway through which a fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas is transported. One third of global fertilisers go through the strait and disruption of supply at this time that crops need to be planted will affect food supply in many nations.
There are predictions that a shortage of vital supplies, energy in particular, could create a global recession as supply chains dry up, factories can no longer operate and prices go through the roof. Now the US has attacked Iran’s Kharg Island through which 90% of Iran’s oil exports go and Israel has attacked the Pars gas the world’s largest natural gas field, shared by Iran (South Pars) and Qatar (North Dome). It contains roughly one-third of the world’s known reserves, accounting for about 10% of global gas production and serving as a critical, 90% source of Iran’s domestic electricity.
The worst case scenario in all this is a meltdown of the world economy and worldwide conditions of social unrest and distress as the price of oil and gas increase dramatically. An article in the Daily Mail (19/3/26) predicts what would happen in Britain if oil goes up to $200 a barrel:
‘Blackouts. Economic paralysis. Empty supermarket shelves. Petrol and diesel rationing. Riots. As oil prices soar to unprecedented highs, Britain is on the brink of the worst energy crisis in our history. The International energy agency has already described it as the worst ever crisis to hit the oil market. Experts across the political spectrum are warning this is just the beginning. Oil is the lifeblood of the global economy. If it stops flowing, the inevitable effect is no different from what happens to the human body when it haemorrhages, dizziness, collapse, cardiac arrest and death. … We have worked on the basis that the government will be able to maintain some sort of control throughout. In reality even that assumption might be too optimistic. Unless politicians can keep a grip the chaos ahead could be too appalling to contemplate.’
Daily Mail (19/3/26)
Of course you could question how wise it is to make oil the lifeblood of the world economy. Back in 2004 I wrote a book ‘The House built on the sand’ (now out of print, but available online). The first chapter reads as follows.
‘But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end; many shall run to and fro and knowledge shall increase.’ Daniel 12.4
The prophecies of Daniel written some 2500 years ago contain some amazing information about the ‘time of the end’, the last days of this age before the event known in the Old Testament as the Day of the Lord and in the New Testament as the Second Coming of Christ. We are all witnesses of the fulfilment of these words of Daniel as we see a huge increase in travel shrinking the world to a global village and the incredible developments of technology in our time, filling our shops and our homes with gadgets and machines that our forefathers had absolutely no concept of.
Two hundred years ago the fastest anyone could go anywhere in the world was the speed of a horse. The fastest you could send a message anywhere in the world was to give it to someone to carry it from A to B at the speed of a horse. It was the same in the time of Julius Caesar, Alexander the Great and back as far as we can look into history.
Today you can get to other side of the world by jet plane in just over a day, you can speak by phone or communicate by email instantly with someone thousands of miles away. Technology is advancing so fast that today’s most advanced computers, mobile phones and a host of other gadgets will be out of date within a few years, if not months. Switch on a computer and open up the Internet and you can tap into an almost infinite source of knowledge on whatever you want to know.
Two hundred years ago as two thousand years ago the majority of people never travelled far from the place they were born, and had little or no idea of other cultures and ideas. Most white people living in Europe had never seen a black person and most black people living in Africa had never seen a white person.
Today travel and communications mean that the world has become a global village and people of all races share living space, ideas, entertainment, sport, music and religion in a way our forefathers could never have imagined.
Two hundred years ago as two thousand years ago if you wanted to build, grow food, go to war or travel, you needed the sweat of human labour with the help of animals like the ox, the horse, the donkey and the camel to accomplish these things.
Today the discovery of coal, oil, gas and nuclear power, means that machines will do the back breaking jobs that our ancestors had to do by human sweat with the help of animals. Trains, cars and planes will transport us in hours to places that previously it would have taken weeks, months or even years to get to.
All these developments open up many exciting possibilities which our ancestors could only have dreamed about. But there is a downside. Although the labours of the past were much harder and only capable of accomplishing a fraction of what modern machines can do, they had two great advantages. They had no negative impact on the environment. They were entirely renewable. People came and went, animals were strong for a while and then died, but whether they were in Europe or China or anywhere else people and animals were able to reproduce and provide for the next generation to carry on living in the same way as their ancestors had done. Apart from deserts and high mountains, the basic resources for keeping society going were available wherever you lived in the world.
Today the resources needed to keep our wonderful world going are finite. They are found only in certain places, some of them, especially Middle Eastern oil, in very vulnerable places which right now are passing through a period of instability which could plunge the whole world into sudden chaos.
Journalists, politicians, scientists, religious figures commenting on our time generally assume that it is inevitable that the kind of dizzying progress we have seen in our time will continue indefinitely. There will be new forms of computers, mobile phones, cars and planes capable of doing ever more advanced things. Even if oil runs out we will develop some other means of generating power so we can keep the system going generation after generation.
There are ‘prophets of doom’ but generally they are dismissed as cranks who are marginal to society and deserve to be ignored and mocked. There are Hollywood movies like ‘Deep Impact’ showing a comet hitting the earth or ‘The Day after Tomorrow’ with its stunning visual effects of sudden weather changes plunging the world into a deep freeze. But generally the effect of these movies is to relegate the possibility of such things really happening to the realm of a Hollywood fantasy which does not need to be taken too seriously.
But you don’t need to go into the realm of Hollywood fantasy to see that our society is built on shaky foundations. Modern technological society lines up with the well known words of Jesus:
‘Whoever hears these sayings of mine and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house upon the rock; and the wind descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. But everyone who hears these sayings of mine and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand; and the rain descended and the floods came and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.’ Matthew 7.24-27
Sooner or later the storm will come and this house will crash. What will happen to you and me then?
The Coming Storm
A study of scripture shows that such a storm is coming on the whole world. The Bible also shows that the last war of this age will happen in the Middle East, focussing on Jerusalem and Israel. But before this happens there will be a number of events which will push the world in this direction. These are connected to the ‘last days’ prophecies of the Bible which will precede the return of the Lord Jesus Christ to the earth to bring an end to war and human mismanagement of the planet. Bible prophecy shows that He will then set up the kingdom of God, bringing God’s rule and order to the earth as prophesied in the Hebrew prophets and in the Book of Revelation.
Here are some significant pointers in that direction. Some of these things are happening now and some are on the way.
1) There will be a general state of wars and conflicts in the last days (Matthew 24.7-8). ‘For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.’ This is a sign of the ‘birth pains’ of the last days, the events that will precede the final period of tribulation.
2) This state of general conflict will lead into the great tribulation period, when the four horsemen of the apocalypse will ride out (Revelation 6). This will bring the Antichrist offering false peace, followed by war, famine and death. The last battle, Armageddon, will be fought over Jerusalem and Israel and will end with the physical return of Jesus Christ (Zechariah 14, Revelation 16 and 19). Jesus will then set up the Messianic kingdom or Millennium, bringing an end to war and injustice (Isaiah 2, Revelation 20).
3) The world will face an economic crisis out of which the Antichrist will arise bringing in the 666 ‘Mark of the Beast’ system, controlling people’s ability to buy and sell (Revelation 13). Revelation 18 describes the fall of Babylon, the world trading system. It specifically mentions ships of the sea being lost and sudden destruction destroying the wealth of the merchants.
4) The scriptures also speak of an environmental disaster in the last days. Aspects of this include fish dying in the sea, ships being destroyed and waters become undrinkable. Revelation 8.8-9. Destroying oil fields and sinking oil tankers could contribute to this disaster.
5) Jeremiah 49.34-39 refers to Elam, the ancient biblical name for the western part of Iran. Scholars point to a historic fulfilment of this prophecy in the days of the Assyrian Empire. However there remains a possible future fulfilment in last days events when God will break ‘the bow of Elam’. The bow is an image used in scripture for military might. In modern terms it could be seen as a picture of missiles and their launchers which are now being destroyed. Verse 36 speaks of the ‘outcasts of Elam’ being scattered abroad. Around four million Iranians have already left Iran and more are trying to get out now. Verse 37 speaks of disaster coming on its leaders: ‘My fierce anger says the LORD.’ God has good reason to be angry with the leaders of the Islamic regime, whose hatred of Israel and arming of its adversaries is responsible for much of the recent conflict in the region. They have persecuted Christians, while promoting a false religious system. In verse 38-9 the Lord promises to set up ‘My throne in Elam’ and bring back its captives, a reference either to some kind of Christian revival in Iran in the last days, or its restoration in the Millennial kingdom.
6) It has a bearing on Israel. The Bible prophesies the return of the Jewish people to the land of Israel in the latter days and a time of conflict over their status there leading to the last battle and the return of the Messiah to the earth (second coming of Jesus Christ). See Ezekiel 36-38, Zechariah 12-14, Luke 21.24-28. Israel is involved in the present war because of Iran’s threat to destroy the state of Israel. Netanyahu is hoping that out of this war the current Islamic regime will fall and be replaced by a more reasonable government that will drop the ‘death to Israel’ programme and work for peace in the region. If that happens it could lead to the seven year covenant bringing a temporary (and false) peace to Israel which is implied in Daniel 9.27.
27 Then he shall confirm a covenant with many for one week;
But in the middle of the week
He shall bring an end to sacrifice and offering.
And on the wing of abominations shall be one who makes desolate,
Even until the consummation, which is determined,
Is poured out on the desolate.” Daniel 9.27
If not it could lead to the nations blaming Israel for the present trouble and gathering together for the war to destroy Israel (Ezekiel 38-39). The Bible prophesies a time of trouble for Israel out of which God will reveal that Yeshua / Jesus is the promised Messiah (Jeremiah 30, Zechariah 12.10). For more on this see our following article, ‘Is it all Israel’s fault?’
7) Jesus spoke about an increase in false prophets and false messiahs in the last days in Matthew 24.5 and 24. Khomeini’s Islamic Revolution in Iran was founded on just such a false prophecy as we shall see in the following.
The Islamic Revolution and the Mahdi
The Shiite Muslim concept of the 12th Imam is a guiding principle behind the Islamic revolution founded by Ayatollah Khomeini. According to this belief the 12th Imam, Muhammad al-Mahdi, was born in 869 AD and never died. He is currently in hiding maintaining a presence on earth, occasionally appearing to the pious in visions. He will reappear as the saviour figure known as the Mahdi, alongside Isa (the Muslim Jesus) in the end times to restore justice and peace to a world filled with tyranny. He will defeat one known as the Dajjal, a kind of Islamic antichrist figure.
Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini claimed that his rule and the establishment of the Islamic Republic of Iran were conducted under the guidance and on behalf of the 12th Imam (Imam Mahdi), who is believed by Twelver Shi’ites to be in a state of “occultation” (hidden from humanity). Khomeini formulated the doctrine of Velayat-e Faqih (Guardianship of the Jurist), which posited that during the 12th Imam’s absence, a ‘just and pious jurist’ (himself) should rule to prepare for the Imam’s eventual return. Former Iranian President Ahmadinejad frequently used his speeches at the UN General Assembly between 2005 and 2012 to discuss his beliefs regarding the Mahdi. He framed his political agenda within an apocalyptic context, calling for a “new order” and the arrival of the “ultimate saviour”, the Mahdi who will come alongside Isa to “lead humanity into achieving its glorious and eternal ideals.”
The reality of the Islamic regime has been the exact opposite as it created a corrupt dictatorship hated by most of its people. The ‘Supreme Leader’ rules through the Islamic Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) who employ extreme terror methods to suppress the people. An Iranian friend compared the IRGC’s military arm, the Bassij militia to the Nazi SS. These people were responsible for the massacre of around 30,000 protesters against the regime in January 2026.
The current conflict began with these protests in January 2026. The country was facing a desperate problem with water shortages, causing shortages of electricity and degradation of agriculture and the environment. The problem was so severe that in December 2025 Iranian President Pezeshkian said Teheran would have to be evacuated if no water came. Winter rains have brought some relief but the problem remains because the regime has badly mismanaged the water situation in a land that is often subject to drought and very high temperatures.
“On 23rd November 2025 Iran’s President Pezeshkian made an astonishing statement: “We’re running short of water. If it doesn’t rain, we in Tehran must start rationing. If it still does not rain, then we will have no water at all. The citizens must evacuate Tehran.” At the time of writing (17 December) some rain has fallen in Tehran but not enough to relieve the crisis, which has been caused by years of low rainfall and very hot weather. This summer there were periods in which the temperature was well over 40C and even up to 50C (over 120 degrees Fahrenheit) for days on end. 16 It is not just the weather that is the problem. Years of chronic mismanagement by the regime’s Revolutionary Guards, known as the Water Mafia’ by environmental activists, have led to this crisis. They are accused of wholesale mismanagement of the situation, exploiting their political influence to implement large-scale, unsustainable projects such as dam construction, river diversion, and excessive groundwater extraction. As a result, the river that supplies Tehran has run dry, the dams and reservoirs are empty, there are long periods when no water comes out of the taps. Crops are dying in the fields and food shortages grow as fields turn to dust. Underground wells and aquifers that have stored water below the ground for centuries have collapsed causing infrastructure above them to crumble. Parts of the city are sinking at a rate of 35 centimetres per year causing damage to houses and roads and breaking underground pipes needed to carry the water to people’s homes. Once the aquifers have collapsed, they cannot be restored, meaning that even if it does rain, this source of water is gone forever.”
Droughts, floods and the coming apocalypse
The economy is in crisis with the Iranian rial trading at around 1.5 million rials to the dollar, causing a collapse of business and trade. While many Iranians were facing severe economic conditions, the ruling elite had made themselves very rich. Mojtiba Khameini, current supreme leader and son of the late Ayatollah, owns properties in the most expensive part of London worth around $150 million.
The main achievement of the Islamic regime has been to turn the people, especially the youth, away from Islam. There are reports of empty mosques and many Iranians turning to Christianity or secular life styles.
The Prince of Persia
Those who do turn to Christianity and have access to the Bible discover some interesting things about Iran or Persia as it is known in the Bible. The prophet Daniel has a visitation from an angel who tells him about ‘the prince of Persia’:
‘Then he said to me, “Do not fear, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand, and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard; and I have come because of your words. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days; and behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left alone there with the kings of Persia. 14 Now I have come to make you understand what will happen to your people in the latter days, for the vision refers to many days yet to come.” … “Do you know why I have come to you? And now I must return to fight with the prince of Persia; and when I have gone forth, indeed the prince of Greece will come. 21 But I will tell you what is noted in the Scripture of Truth. (No one upholds me against these, except Michael your prince).’ Daniel 10.12-14, 20-21
In Daniel 10, the “prince of Persia” is interpreted as a high-ranking, evil spiritual entity or demonic force in Satan’s army, rather than a human king. This fallen angel held spiritual authority over the Persian region, opposing God’s messenger (an angel) for 21 days until the archangel Michael intervened. This passage indicates that there are supernatural powers operating in the heavenly realms and influencing what happens to nations on earth, in this case Persia and Greece.
The Bible shows how God overrules these events on earth and reveals things to His prophets who are given accurate predictions of things to come. Such prophecies are found in the Hebrew books of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Daniel. These predicted accurately the Babylonian conquest of Jerusalem and captivity of the Jews to Babylon in 597-586 BC. (Jeremiah 25.9-11, Isaiah 39.6-7, Ezekiel 24.1-2), the fall of Babylon to the Medes and Persians and the restoration of the Jews to Jerusalem under the edict of the Persian king Cyrus in 537 BC (Isaiah 44.26-45, Jeremiah 51-52); the Greek conquest of Persia under Alexander the Great and its subsequent division into four parts in 334-330 BC (Daniel 8.1-22, 11.1-4)); the Seleucid wars with Egypt and with Judah, known as the Maccabean Revolt in 167-165 BC (Daniel 11).
So detailed are these prophecies and so exactly fulfilled by identifiable events in history that modern theologians say they must have been written after the event. They say that Daniel was written around the time of Maccabees in 165BC. Conservative scholars say that Daniel was written by the prophet living in Babylon in the sixth century BC recording his visions and experiences during the Babylonian exile and giving revelation sent by God of things to come. The latter view is the one I hold, believing that God knows the end from the beginning and is able to give wisdom and insight into things to come through the supernatural revelation of the Holy Spirit recorded in Bible prophecy.
The prophecies in Daniel concerning the wars of Babylon, Persia and Greece focus on how these great empires relate to Israel /Judah and the Jewish people. They also have a bearing on the end of days and the emergence of a sinister figure who is also the subject of New Testament prophecy concerning the coming Antichrist (2 Thessalonians 2, Revelation 13 and 17). In Daniel Chapter 7 we have the little horn who speaks ‘pompous words against the Most High and persecutes the saints of the Most High’. In chapter 8 we have a detailed description of this one who appears ‘in the latter time’.
“And in the latter time of their kingdom, when the transgressors have reached their fullness, a king shall arise, having fierce features, who understands sinister schemes. His power shall be mighty, but not by his own power; he shall destroy fearfully, and shall prosper and thrive; he shall destroy the mighty, and also the holy people. Through his cunning he shall cause deceit to prosper under his rule; and he shall exalt himself in his heart. He shall destroy many in their prosperity. He shall even rise against the Prince of princes; but he shall be broken without human means. And the vision of the evenings and mornings which was told is true; therefore seal up the vision, for it refers to many days in the future.” Daniel 8:19-26
In chapter 11 we read of the sinister figure of Antiochus who persecuted the Jews in the days of the Maccabees. In Daniel’s prophecy he merges with one who is the final Antichrist:
‘Then the king shall do according to his own will: he shall exalt and magnify himself above every god, shall speak blasphemies against the God of gods, and shall prosper till the wrath has been accomplished; for what has been determined shall be done. He shall regard neither the God of his fathers nor the desire of women, nor regard any god; for he shall exalt himself above them all.’ Daniel 11:36-37
This leads in to the final time of the great tribulation described in Daniel 12:
“At that time Michael shall stand up, the great prince who stands watch over the sons of your people; and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation, even to that time. And at that time your people shall be delivered, every one who is found written in the book. And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting contempt. Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament, and those who turn many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever. But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase.” Daniel 12:1-4
The events here tie in with other passages in the Bible dealing with the final period of the great tribulation, notably Matthew 24.15-31 and Jeremiah 30.
What has this to do with our time?
So the question is ‘Is there a connection between the biblical wars of the Greeks and the Persians and the last days conflict shaping up in our time?‘ The wars of the Greeks and the Persians brought into conflict the most developed nation at the time from Europe with the most developed nation of Asia. Alexander brought Greek culture into the lands that he conquered and conversely the Persians introduced their culture into Greece. Both Greeks and Persians had an influence on Israel and the Bible, partly for good and partly for evil. What is interesting is that the war now taking place has brought into play the most developed western nation, USA, which really came out of Europe, into conflict with Iran / Persia. Behind the current regime in Iran we can see evidence of ‘the prince of Persia’ an evil spirit, that has taken over and ruined the cultured Persian nation and replaced it with a murderous dictatorship backed by a false religious system.
At the same time we see a whole lot of confusion coming out of the US as the Trump administration behaves more and more erratically putting its own future and the future of the western alliance in great danger. For more on this see our item ‘The global economic war’ in Signs of the Times.
What do you think? Are we on the edge of the final time of tribulation? Will the Antichrist arise out of this conflict? Will America emerge triumphant reshaping the world order or fall under the weight of contrary events and its sins? And where will this leave Israel and the Jewish people in a world which is turning more and more hostile to them?
One thing we can say for certain is that Jesus will come again and bring the last word from God and the one hope of peace and safety to our battered world. Believe in Him and be ready for His return.
