2005 Iran Became Most Dangerous Nation (F-16I to play major role!)

Hal Lindsey, Jan. 3, 2006

In reviewing the most important events of 2005 related to prophecy, I believe that the most important is what happened in Iran. Because of certain developments, Iran became the most dangerous nation in the world during 2005.

First, Iran’s continuing pursuit of nuclear weapons despite the warnings of the international community is one factor that has elevated it to the title of “most dangerous.” Iran already has Shahab 5 Missiles that are capable of delivering nuclear warheads to Israel and many places in Europe. Not to mention US troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

According to a Claremont Institute report, it has a range of 2,500 miles. The missile is believed to be based on the North Korean Taep’o-dong 2. It is an Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile (IRBM) that can carry a large single nuclear or biological warhead.

Most alarming to the US military is that this missile is a stepping-stone to the development of ICBMs capable of hitting the US mainland.

A Middle East Newsline dated May 20, 2004 reported, “U.S. intelligence officials believe that Iran could begin testing components of an intercontinental ballistic missile in 2005, likely from the Shahab missile family.”

This is probably why President George Bush recently announced that “it is completely unacceptable for Iran to develop nuclear weapons.” It also explains the December 31st Jerusalem Post report that the US began coordinating with NATO its plans for a possible military strike against Iran. The report spoke of an air attack on Iranian nuclear facilities.

Second, Iran elected a new president who is fanatically driven by the most extreme teachings of the Shiite Muslim faith that was introduced by the Ayatollah Khomeini. His name is Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. He is an avid Anti-Semite who publicly declared that “the Nazis Holocaust is a myth created by the Jews to get international sympathy for establishing the State of Israel.”

Ahmadinejad announced, “Israel is a cancer that must be wiped off the map.” With the prospect of soon acquiring nuclear-tipped missiles, this elevated him to be a major world threat. You may think that he wouldn’t be insane enough to use nuclear weapons. Don’t count on it.

Some of the Iranian Mullahs recently declared that Muslims would survive and win a nuclear exchange. One of the basic tenets of the Shiite faith is the glorification of martyrdom for Allah. In their thinking, it would be acceptable for several million Iranians to be ‘martyred’ in exchange for ‘cleansing Muslim lands of Jews and infidels.’ Two nuclear warheads hitting Israel would do in a blinding flash what took Hitler six years to accomplish – the elimination of six million Jews. To the Shiite extremist, the consequences that follow would be an acceptable sacrifice. They have actually discussed these things.

If you doubt their intention, just consider the banners draped on the Shahab missiles that are paraded periodically through the streets of Tehran. The crowds shout approval as the banners go by. They read, “We will wipe Israel off the map.” This indicates that the general population agrees with the purpose of the missiles.

Third, President Ahmadinejad is a devout believer in the apocalyptic Muslim prophecies about the soon coming of the ‘Mahdi’ (Muslim Messiah) known as the Twelfth Imam. They believe his coming will be accompanied with a world apocalypse in which Muslim rule and justice will be established on earth.

One of the first acts Ahmadinejad did as President was to donate $17 million of state money for the beautification of the Jamkaran Mosque that is about 80 miles south of Tehran. Devout Shiites believe that the ‘Twelfth Imam’ will first appear at this mosque.

President Ahmadinejad declared last month that “the main mission of the Islamic Revolution is to pave the way for the reappearance of the Twelfth Imam.”

Iranian journalist Hossein Bastani reported “Ahmadinejad saying in official meetings that the ‘hidden Imam’ will reappear in two years.”

Columnist Charles Krauthammer best summarized the significance of all this in his report entitled, In Iran, Arming for Armageddon. He surmised, “So a Holocaust-denying, virulently anti-Semitic, aspiring genocidist, on the verge of acquiring weapons of the apocalypse, believes that the end is not only near but nearer than the next American presidential election … This kind of man would have, to put it gently, less inhibition about starting Armageddon than a normal person. Indeed, with millennial bliss pending, he would have positive incentive to, as they say in Jewish eschatology, hasten the end.”

I am thankful to know from Bible prophecy that this restored State of Israel cannot be destroyed, though it will go through some terrible trials. So it is going to be fascinating to see what God does to stop this clear and immanent threat to Israel’s existence.

The Israeli Air Force has acquired some very specially designed versions of the F-16 fighter known as the F-16i. It has conformal fuel tanks mounted on the sides of the fuselage that extends its range well within Iran’s borders. It also has a large dorsal fin extending from the cockpit to the rudder that houses the most advanced defensive and targeting electronics on any aircraft. It has a more powerful engine and carries a crew of pilot and electronics operator. Israel did not help design and build this plane for normal operation. It is clearly the “Iranian special.” It is believed that Israel has already developed and practiced an attack plan to take out Iran’s scattered nuclear facilities.

And what will be the aftermath of an Israeli attack that kills thousands of Iranians, but also many Russian scientists who live at these nuclear facilities? Well let’s just say we are really getting close to Christ’s return for the Church.

"Israeli Air Force officials are "frustrated" over the Defense Ministry's agreeing to allow the F-16I jets to be equipped with American-made radar."

Why ?"

Now that you see the United Arab Emirates receiving AN/APG-80s with their F-16s. The Israeli's wanted to fit their own radars and seemed unhappy with the radar fit on their F-16Is.

Radar concerns cast shadow over F-16I buy
ALON BEN-DAVID JDW Correspondent
Tel Aviv

The Israel Air Force (IAF) is "highly dissatisfied" with the Northrop Grumman AN/APG-68(V)9 radar installed in its new F-16I multirole fighters, according to senior Israeli defence sources.

With the first of 102 Lockheed Martin F-16Is scheduled to arrive in Israel on 19 February, a growing number of defence officials are now criticising the procurement.

JDW has learned that following a series of test flights at Lockheed Martin's facility in Fort Worth, Texas, IAF pilots assessed the synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) mode of the AN/APG-68(V)9 to be "below IAF operational standards".

Israel's former minister of defence, Moshe Arens, who negotiated the F-16I deal, told JDW he is not surprised to learn about the radar's performance problems. "Our intention was to install Israeli-made radar in the F-16Is, but the US government made the whole sale conditional on the purchase of US-made radar. I argued that [Israel Aircraft Industries' subsidiary] Elta's radar had a proven better performance and lesser cost than the US radars, but the Americans were unrelenting," Arens said.

The Israel Defence Force (IDF) spokesperson's office declined to comment on the matter, and a spokesperson for Lockheed Martin said that "the issue is between the Israeli and the US governments".

Senior IAF officers have recently met with both Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman executives and presented them with what they described as "performance problems of the radar". IAF sources said that "once the aircraft arrive in Israel, further tests will be conducted in co-ordination with the manufacturer".

However, according to a Northrop Grumman spokesman, the company hosted a SAR "summit" for all key principals in January 2004, at the US government's request, to evaluate the radar's performance. At the end of that session, the parties agreed that the radar had met all its performance specifications, that the development phase was completed and that the IAF should now evaluate the radar in its own environment.

IAF sources said that in 1999 the service's preferred option was for Lockheed Martin's F-16I over Boeing's F-15I - partly because an offer to purchase two batches of 50 aircraft had significantly lowered the price per unit. However, the $4.4 billion F-16I deal, Israel's largest-ever single procurement, is now under increasing scrutiny by both former and current defence officials.

"I don't think we should have decided in 1999 on fighters we will still be receiving in 2008," said Brig Gen Eival Giladi, who until last December was head of strategic planning for the IDF. "I am not worried about their technology, but I'm not sure that what we will need in 2008 are fighters. We should have opted for the smaller [F-15] deal. Even though we would have lost the considerable discount, we would have gained much more freedom to decide later on the structure of our air force."

Arens, who supported the F-16I deal at the time, said: "In perspective, it could be that we were a little hasty. Considering the strategic changes in the region, I am not sure we should have made that deal."

While IAF Commander Maj Gen Dan Halutz (now IDF Deputy Chief of Staff elect) maintained that the F16I procurement "was the right decision then and still is today", other senior officers are questioning the decision, which committed a large part of US Foreign Military Financing (FMF) to Israel for almost a decade.

The IDF's budget was drastically reduced in the last two years, making the FMF the only available funds for new procurements.

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon recently added NIS1 billion ($224.2 million) to the 2004 defence budget, totalling NIS33.4 billion, and pledged an additional NIS1.6 billion in 2005.

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.