Mohammad Reza Zahedi was the Iranian general in command of the Quds Force in Syria and Lebanon, a senior military figure of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. The United States had designated both groups as terrorist organizations. Zahedi was critical in giving aid, counsel and military support to anti-Israel forces in the region. He was instrumental in strengthening such terrorist groups as Hezbollah on Israel’s northern border.
In the wake of Oct. 7, Hezbollah began launching missile attacks into Israel, forcing the mass evacuation of Israel’s northern region. An all-out war between Israel and Hezbollah became a very real prospect. Making the situation more dangerous, Hezbollah’s ability to inflict destruction in the land of Israel was far greater than that of Hamas. Zahedi was a key agent behind Hezbollah’s power and actions. Israel knew it. This would lead to a chain of events that would bring the Middle East to the brink of war, all overflowing from Oct. 7.
On Apr. 1, 2024, the Israeli Air Force struck an annex building of the Iranian consulate in Syria. Zahedi was conducting a meeting inside the annex. He and those with him were immediately killed. The Iranian government condemned the attack and vowed to retaliate. The Israeli-Iranian conflict was about to enter a new and much more dangerous realm.
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Two days after his death the Iranian Coalition Council of Islamic Revolutionary Forces, an organization affiliated with Ayatollah Khamenei, Iran’s supreme leader, sent forth a communication praising Zahedi. The U.S.-based Middle East Media Research Institute, translated the communication into English. It read:
The strategic role of the martyr Zahedi in consolidating and strengthening the resistance front, and in the planning and execution of Al-Aqsa Flood…
It was praising General Zahedi for having played an instrumental part in the October 7, invasion of Israel.
To the Brink
For over a week the world watched anxiously and on edge for the retaliation of Iran against Israel, fearing it would set off a regional war, if not something even greater and more dangerous. And then it came. On Apr. 13, Iran, together with the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, the Houthis in Yemen, and Hezbollah in Lebanon, launched over 120 ballistic missiles, 170 drones and over 30 cruise missiles into the land of Israel. It was the largest missile attack ever launched by Iran and the largest drone strike in military history. It was intended to overwhelm Israel’s defensive capabilities.
The attack marked a watershed moment. Up to that date Iran had attacked Israel only indirectly and covertly, using agents and proxies. But this was the first time it had ever launched a direct attack.
With Israel allied with America and the West, and Iran with Russia and China, the danger was not only that it could set off a major war in the Middle East but that it could escalate into a world war. And it was all emanating from Oct. 7. The Dragon’s Operation Flood had brought the world to the brink of calamity.
Uncharted Territory
Israel, with its allies, shot down an estimated 99% of the incoming missiles. Less than a week later Israel responded. It chose to do so with a highly restrained strike on varied Iranian, Syrian, and Iraqi military sites to demonstrate its capabilities of de-escalating the situation. Though the immediate crisis de-escalated, a formerly unbreached line had been broken. Iran had attacked the land of Israel, and Israel, the land of Iran. The Middle East and world had entered an uncharted and dangerous territory.
According to the Prophecy
It was a historic watershed, and more than that. It was a prophetic milestone. Ezekiel had foretold that, in the last days, Persia, or Iran, would launch an attack against an Israel that had been “gathered from the nations.” That had never happened. But on Apr. 13, 2024, for the first time ever, Persia, Iran, had launched a direct attack on the resurrected nation of Israel. It was not yet the fullness of what was prophesied but was the most definitive step ever taken toward its fulfillment. A prophetic line had been crossed.
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Oct. 7, had marked the first time that virtually every identifiable people or nation cited in Ezekiel’s prophecy had played a part in an invasion of Israel. Apr. 13 would mark the first time that any of those prophesied nations had actually attacked the resurrected nation of Israel.
Prepared by Charisma Media Staff.