U.S. Mideast naval exercise and fighter jets in the Gulf region

U.S. Mideast naval exercise and fighter jets in the Gulf region

US warship and fighter jets sent to UAE after Houthi missile attacks

The Biden administration is sending an additional warship and more fighter jets to the Gulf to help defend the United Arab Emirates in the face of missile attacks from Yemen’s Houthi rebels.
The UAE shot down three hostile drones that penetrated UAE airspace yesterday, the UAE’s ministry of defence announced February the 2nd, in the fourth attack since January 17. The interception was “away from populated areas” and happened at dawn, according to Emirati officials. The USS Cole, a guided missile destroyer, would be sent to “partner with the UAE navy”, the American defence secretary, Lloyd Austin, said. He also announced “fifth generation” fighter jets, a category that includes the latest F-22 and F-35 models, would be deployed to the Gulf state, most likely at Abu Dhabi’s Al Dhafra airbase.

There are a number of interesting things happening here.
First of all the US is militarily supporting the UAE. The UAE is one of the small Gulf Arab states on the Arabian peninsula. This is the exact area of Sheba and Dedan in the Bible. Sheba and Dedan we are told are allied to Tarshish and the young lions. Tarshish is Britain (the old lion) and the young lions are offspring of Britain – i.e. other English speaking nations. The reason they are not named in Ezekiel 38 is simply because these nations had not been developed at the time Ezekiel wrote. So the US supporting the UAE is part of Ezekiel 38:13 being fulfilled
The Houthi’s (attacking the UAE) are one of Iran’s proxy armies. Iran is attacking the UAE through its proxy army the Houthis to warn the US that it can destabilise the region if it doesn’t get its way over the nuclear deal….See Isaiah 21.

A grievous vision is declared unto me; the treacherous dealer dealeth treacherously, and the spoiler spoileth. Go up, O Elam: besiege, O Media; all the sighing thereof have I made to cease. (Isaiah 21:2)

Elam / Media are areas of Iran. Iran will rise up and besiege.

Israel participates in huge U.S. Mideast naval exercise alongside Saudi, Oman

Logo of Gulf Cooperation CouncilIsrael is taking part in a huge U.S.-led naval exercise in the Middle East, for the first time publicly joining Saudi Arabia and Oman, two counties it has no diplomatic relations with despite its normalisation of ties with some Gulf states. The International Maritime Exercise 2022 (IMX 22) includes around 60 countries and comes amid heightened Gulf tensions after missile attacks on the United Arab Emirates by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement, including a foiled attack aimed at a base hosting U.S. forces.
Israel normalised relations with Gulf states the UAE and Bahrain in 2020, brought together by shared worries about Iran, and first held a joint naval drill with those two countries in November. But this is the first time Israel has participated in an IMX exercise, and publicly alongside Saudi Arabia with which it has no diplomatic ties. Bahrain hosts the U.S. Navy Fifth Fleet’s headquarters as well as some operations for CENTCOM.

Israel has become increasingly close with the Gulf Arab states. In 2020, Israel and the UAE and Bahrain signed the Abraham Accords. These agreements were to normallise relations between these nations. One might ask why Arab nations are signing normalisation agreements with Israel – surely they are enemies?
The reason is this – they all have one greater shared enemy – Iran. They realise they have to come together to counter Iran’s growing malign influence in the region. On Thursday February the 3rd, the Israeli defence minister visited the kingdom of Bahrain to sign a security cooperation agreement, the first between Israel and a Gulf nation. This defence agreement enhances the Abraham Accords signed in 2020.

The Bible says that Dedan (the exact area of Bahrain) will be onside with Israel when Russia and Iran invade Israel…

Sheba, and Dedan, and the merchants of Tarshish, with all the young lions thereof, shall say unto thee, Art thou come to take a spoil? hast thou gathered thy company to take a prey? to carry away silver and gold, to take away cattle and goods, to take a great spoil? (Ezekiel 38:13)

Andy Walton

Find this week’s Weekly World Watch