A major showdown is looming in the Middle East. For weeks, President Trump has been hinting that he intends to bomb the living daylights out of Iran after the midterm elections. As you will see below, he just made a statement at a campaign rally that makes this very clear. Of course the Iranians are well aware of everything that Trump has been saying, and they are feverishly preparing for war. In fact, the head of the IRGC Navy seems to be quite eager for more fighting to begin so that he can target U.S. warships. But if the Iranians hit even a single U.S. warship, there will be no turning back. Just imagine the frenzy that would be created if CNN and Fox News were endlessly broadcasting images of a U.S. warship billowing smoke after being hit by an Iranian missile. That would almost certainly mean all-out war with Iran. Needless to say, in a “doomsday war” scenario the Iranians would throw everything that they have got at the United States and Israel.
The Iranians still have plenty of missiles in their arsenal, and their underground production facilities are producing more every day.
Since Sunday, they have used those missiles to attack at least 10 different commercial vessels…
At least 10 vessels have been attacked in or near the Strait of Hormuz since Sunday, a high since war broke out between the United States, Israel and Iran, security data showed Wednesday.
Four vessels were struck on Tuesday and six on Sunday — the highest number of attacks in a single day since the start of the conflict — according to data from security firm Vanguard, the International Maritime Organization and the British maritime agency UKMTO.
The Iranians could have chosen to back off and give room for peace talks to have a chance.
Instead, they are warning us that they plan to hit five or six commercial vessels each night…
The prominent and outspoken secretary of Iran’s supreme national security council, Mohsen Rezaei, has meanwhile affirmed that the IRGC was striking vessels nightly, and is likely to keep doing so.
“We target five or six of these every night,” he told state TV. “Hormuz is under the control of the Islamic Republic.“
In addition, the Iranians have begun mining the southern route through the Strait of Hormuz that runs along the coast of Oman.
Sadly, another commercial vessel just hit an Iranian mine…
A cargo ship sank after striking a naval mine in the Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps navy said. It was the first time Iran had reported a ship sinking after hitting a mine during the war.
Shipping officials, meanwhile, said two Singapore-registered cargo vessels had been hit by “unknown projectiles” as they went through the strait on Tuesday and Wednesday. One sank, while the other reached safety. All crew members were evacuated from the first ship, and no injuries were reported in either incident, the Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore said.
“Such attacks are unprovoked, unjustifiable, and a breach of international law,” the authority said.
As I discussed yesterday, it is a really big deal when a tanker is damaged or destroyed.
The price for a single tanker typically falls somewhere between $60 million and $140 million.
Once a contract is signed and an order is placed, it takes 9 to 15 months to actually build the tanker.
In other words, it is going to take a long time to replace all of the tankers that have been lost.
It appears that President Trump has completely lost patience with Iran and has definitely decided to launch a new military campaign after the midterms.
This is what he just told the world in front of a huge crowd at a major campaign rally…
“Wait till you see what we do to Iran. We’re gonna—we’re gonna do a number. Wait till you see… We’ve had it.”
I don’t think that it is wise to let your enemy know what is coming in advance, because that gives your enemy an opportunity to prepare for it.
On Wednesday, the head of the IRGC Navy boldly declared that his forces are quite eager to start sinking U.S. warships…
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) chief Ali Ozmaei said Wednesday that Tehran is “counting the moments” until it can sink American warships, according to Iranian state-affiliated media.
“If the Americans think the Strait of Hormuz is open, let them come closer. We are impatient to sink American warships,” Ozmaei reportedly said in a televised interview.
“We are waiting for U.S. warships to approach the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz so we can sink them. We are counting down every moment until this happens.”
That is quite a threat.
He also boasted that U.S. warships would not dare approach the Strait of Hormuz because they know what would happen…
Azmaei claimed US warships “do not dare” approach the strategic waterway because of their vulnerability, saying a US aircraft carrier worth $13 billion had moved 700 kilometers (435 miles) from the strait.
“If the Americans want to see whether the Strait of Hormuz is open or closed, let them enter the field and see who controls it,” he said.
In early September, the Iranians fired a ballistic missile over the USS George Washington and a nearby destroyer…
For the strike, Iran says it will use the Qasem Basir solid-fuel ballistic missile with a 1,200-kilometer range, a 500-kg warhead, and electro-optical seekers that track moving naval targets without GPS, the same one Iran used against the USS George Washington on Sept. 5, where CENTCOM confirmed Iran fired missiles at a US aircraft carrier and destroyer.
Many interpreted that as a “warning shot”, and the USS George Washington did move farther away from Iran after that encounter.
But if President Trump orders a new series of airstrikes on strategic targets all over Iran after the midterms, U.S. warships may move closer to Iranian territory for that operation.
The Iranians have repeatedly hit U.S. bases in the region during this war, but if they were able to successfully hit and sink a U.S. warship, that would be a major psychological shock.
CNN and Fox News would run footage of the U.S. warship sinking 24 hours a day, and there would be immense pressure on President Trump to do whatever it takes to defeat Iran.
In recent months, someone has been helping the Iranians with their ballistic missile program.
Iranian missiles are now more elusive and much more accurate.
That is why so many of them have been getting through and hitting their targets.
So who has been helping Iran?
Has it been the Russians?
Has it been the Chinese?
Has it been the North Koreans?
There is a lot of debate about this.
Whoever is helping Iran is risking war with the United States.
Of course we are living at a time when military conflict is erupting all over the planet.
Earlier today, we learned that the Pentagon will be sending 600 soldiers to Latin America to assist in the war on the drug cartels…
The Pentagon is deploying approximately 600 soldiers from the 10th Mountain Division to Latin America as Washington expands its military campaign against drug cartels, according to U.S. military officials cited by the New York Times.
Troops will initially deploy to Panama, followed by training operations in Colombia and Honduras, potentially supporting U.S. Special Operations forces.
The U.S. is also establishing a new Western Hemisphere military command in Miami and has moved MQ-9 Reaper drones into the region.
U.S. forces are already stretched very thin.
If China invades Taiwan or the Iranians send troops into southern Iraq and Kuwait, it will be a real challenge for us to muster significant numbers for an appropriate response.
We are accustomed to always being on the offensive.
But it won’t always be that way.
Our enemies are better armed than they have ever been before, and global events are starting to spiral out of control.
A single wrong move has the potential to change everything, and I am convinced that things will get really crazy during the months ahead.
Michael’s new book entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can subscribe to his Substack newsletter at michaeltsnyder.substack.com.
About the Author: Michael Snyder’s new book entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com. He has also written nine other books that are available on Amazon.com including “Chaos”, “End Times”, “7 Year Apocalypse”, “Lost Prophecies Of The Future Of America”, “The Beginning Of The End”, and “Living A Life That Really Matters”. When you purchase any of Michael’s books you help to support the work that he is doing. You can also get his articles by email as soon as he publishes them by subscribing to his Substack newsletter. Michael has published thousands of articles on The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and he always freely and happily allows others to republish those articles on their own websites. These are such troubled times, and people need hope. John 3:16 tells us about the hope that God has given us through Jesus Christ: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” If you have not already done so, we strongly urge you to invite Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior today.
