Israel weighing options amid deepening Russia-Ukraine crisis

Israel is considering its position as tensions rise on the Russia-Ukraine border, and the Foreign Ministry plans to deliberate the matter on Monday. Jerusalem has generally maintained a position of neutrality between the countries since their 2014 war.

Maintaining good relations with Moscow is a strategic interest for Israel in light of Russia’s significant military presence in Syria. Israel also has strong ties with Ukraine in a variety of areas, and Kyiv has the support of Israel’s most important ally, the US, in the current crisis. Another major concern for Israel is how the Ukraine-Russia crisis will impact the Iran nuclear talks. The US and Russia sit around the same table, and their delegations met in Vienna over the weekend. Mikhail Ulynanov, head of the Russian delegation to the Iran talks, on Saturday 22 tweeted:

“Russia-US relations are in extremely bad shape. However, on Iran we managed to work productively so far.”

Israel is very concerned about how a Ukraine / Russian war could play out as far as they are concerned. According to analysts the moment of truth is coming if war begins. There would be pressure on Israel to take a side. The US would pressure to condemn Russian action as well as pressure from Ukraine itself. There is a very large Ukrainian community in Israel who will want Israel to back Ukraine. There is also the concern over how the war in Ukraine could impact the delicate Iranian talks. Russia and the US are working together on Iran at the moment. But conflict in Ukraine could throw a major spanner in the works. This could lead to Iran breaking out for a nuclear weapon with Moscow’s blessing as a punishment to the West. We are on the brink of major events…

The Lord, who stretches out the heavens, who lays the foundation of the earth, and who forms the human spirit within a person, declares:. “I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that sends all the surrounding peoples reeling. Judah will be besieged as well as Jerusalem. (Zechariah 12:1-2 NIV)

 

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Iran nuclear talks on brink of collapse, diplomats warn

The Times, January 21, 2022

Western negotiators have said that talks to rescue the Iran nuclear deal are on the point of collapse because Tehran’s nuclear programme is advancing faster than diplomatic progress towards an agreement. After talks on Thursday, Jean-Yves Le Drian, the French foreign minister, said the discussions were in a “life-threatening emergency”.

“There is partial, timid and slow progress, but negotiations cannot continue at such a slow pace while, in parallel, Iran’s nuclear programme advances so rapidly,”

he said. President Biden said this week that the talks were moving forward and it was not time to give up. However, European negotiators have been warning for months that there is little sign of a deal being struck any time soon. Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state, said that western powers might withdraw from the talks soon.

“We are indeed at a decisive moment,”

he said.

It seems as if many crisis’s are all coming to a head at the same time. Not only is Ukraine on the brink of war – possibly the most serious event since World War 2 – we also have Iran talks on the edge of a cliff as well. It is no coincidence that all these things are coming together at once.

The Bible says the world will enter a time of trouble such as never was. It makes sense then that multiple crisis’s will develop at the same time. Iran is the power behind the initial inner ring war involving Israel’s neighbours – Hamas, Hezbollah, Syria. This deal (or lack of it) could spark this inner ring war around Israel. As one commentator put it..

“The Iranians, under their new president, Ebrahim Raisi, smell weakness, especially since the rushed western exit from Afghanistan. In Biden, they see a president with no fight. And they want comprehensive revenge…”

In the Bible we find

Say to the nations far and wide:

“Get ready for war! Call out your best warriors. Let all your fighting men advance for the attack. Hammer your plowshares into swords and your pruning hooks into spears. Train even your weaklings to be warriors. Come quickly, all you nations everywhere. Gather together in the valley.” (Joel 3:9-11 NLT)

Andy Walton

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Find also to read

1. A watchman seeing the sword coming
2. Signs of the Times – A boost for Israel
3. Israel featured twice on list of potential 2022 conflicts
4. PM warns Vladimir Putin against ‘tragic mistake’ as tensions rise with Ukraine
5. Moscow lists demands for defusing Ukraine tensions
6. Sings of the times – Difficult moments at the borders of Europe
7. Iran shows off rocket launch to raise pressure in nuclear deal talks
8. Nuclear-War Risk Minimized in Rare Statement by Weapon States
9. Are we shambling into WWIII?
10. British troops deployed to Polish border as tensions with Russia rise
11. Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and Russian troop movements
12. Biden predicts Russia will attack Ukraine but warns Putin of a ‘stiff price’
13. Putin is sabre-rattling at the West’s moment of maximum weakness

Israel featured twice on list of potential 2022 conflicts

A think tank and research institute on global crises released a list of ten international conflicts to anticipate in 2022, with potential wars involving Israel featured twice. The compilation, released by the  International Crisis Group, said the world could witness possible conflicts between Israel and the Palestinian territories this year, as well as a war involving Israel, the United States, and Iran.

If nuclear negotiations in Vienna with Iran fail, “which now seems probable,” then either Israel or the US may attempt to demolish Iran’s nuclear program by striking facilities across the country – prompting a war – the International Crisis Group predicted. The think tank also forecasted an additional conflict between Israel and the Palestinian territories, noting that Palestinians within Gaza, the West Bank, Israel, and east Jerusalem presented a more unified front during the 2021 outbreak of Israeli-Palestinian violence than in previous wars.

The annual report by the “International Crisis Group” looks at potential conflicts for the coming year. In its opening statement it says

“it is easy to see a world careering off the tracks.”

It quotes the triumph of the Taliban as the US withdrew coupled with a

“dwindling US ambition on the global stage.”

It also sees the “power showdown over Ukraine and Taiwan” as causes for conflict.

All this analysis fits into Bible prophecy. But the other one they mention is Israel. They see Israel potential being drawn into conflict with Iran and with their surrounding neighbours in 2022. This is exactly what we have been saying the WWW for 20 years. There is great trouble and conflict coming with Iran – Isaiah 21 tells us that. We know Iran will be behind the activation of its proxy armies around Israel when the inner ring war starts. Eg Hamas, Hezbollah and even Syria. For the first time all these conflicts look like they could happen at anytime…..in 2022….

Andy Walton

Come to read the Weekly World Watch

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