If you are watching the news with any interest, you are realizing that Bible prophecy is being fulfilled at warp speed.
After Egyptian officials telling them "no", Iran is now arranging with them to have two of its warships use the Suez Canal. This comes from the Iranian state-run Press TV. The Suez Canal Authority said after the report that no Iranian naval vessels had been granted permission to sail through the waterway.
Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said yesterday that Iran was planning later that day to send two gunboats through the canal to Syria, which would involve heading through the eastern Mediterranean, off Israel’s coast. He called the move a “provocation.”
“Until now we don’t have any information or a license from any ministry in Egypt,” the authority’s head of traffic, Ahmed El Manakhly, said in a phone interview. Earlier, he said Egypt’s Defense Ministry must approve any vessel’s use of the canal.
Press TV cited an unidentified naval official as saying Iranian officials were in contact with Egyptian officials to arrange passage for the warships, and that Egyptian authorities believe there was nothing wrong with their planned journey. The broadcaster said the official was confirming previous reports that Iranian warships would use the waterway.
Oil prices rose after the Iranian report, with Brent crude increasing 42 cents to $104.20 a barrel. In New York, crude rose 23 cents to $85.22 a barrel. The Swiss franc strengthened 0.8 percent to 1.2914 per euro as of 1:52 p.m. in London, and appreciated 0.7 percent versus the dollar to 95.25 centimes.
The 120-mile (190-kilometer) Suez Canal carries about 2.5 percent of world oil output, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc., and is a key route for ships carrying Asian consumer goods to Europe.
“According to the rules which govern navigation through Suez -- international rules -- we cannot forbid any vessel from passing through the Suez Canal if there is no war between Egypt and that country,” El Manakhly told Bloomberg Television in an interview before the Iranian report. “Any vessel can pass through the canal if we have prior approval from the Ministry of Defense.”
What is interesting is that Iran hasn’t sent warships through the canal in “many years.” The ships in question are a British- built, 1960s-era Mk-5 frigate and a supply vessel, according to Israel's Yedioth Ahronot newspaper.
Israeli leaders have voiced concern that Iran may exploit the instability in the region following the Feb. 11 ousting of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. Iran has sought to crush anti- government protests at home, including one on Feb. 14 inspired by the revolts in Egypt and Tunisia, where the president was ousted last month.
Iran has accused the U.S. and Israel of stoking dissent in the country and rejects international sanctions against its nuclear program. Iran has said discussions of Israel’s nuclear development should be part of any talks on its own atomic work. Israel hasn’t confirmed or denied possession of nuclear weapons.
“The international community must understand that Israel can’t ignore forever these kinds of provocations,” Lieberman said in the speech in which he discussed the ships.
It is wonderful to think that today could be the day that Christ returns to rapture the Church.
"Are you ready"
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