Calvary Prophecy Page

As Middle East peace talks begin this week, Israeli Prime Minister Olmert says he is focused and ready to seize the opportunity that is before him. 

"This is an opportunity that entails many uncertainties, many risks, many dangers," Olmert said. "We cannot ignore them. But we absolutely must not allow uncertainty and risks to prevail because an opportunity also exists."

"I intend to take advantage of this opportunity to wage serious, ongoing and uninterrupted negotiations in order to forge a historic path toward a new diplomatic reality," he added. Jerusalem Post

Unfortunately, Israel is taking all the risks and the US and Arab world are reaping all the benefits.  It seems that much of the talks up to this point have been more of a dictation from the US than commonsense decision making from Israeli leaders.

Certainly, Israel is in no spiritual shape to look to God for their deliverance but there will come a time when they will have no other choice...and He will answer in the most thunderest way ever seen by mankind (Ezekiel 38 & 39).

Last week, the US reported (NIE) that their findings showed Iran ceased pursuing a nuclear weapons program back in 2003.  There is much speculation that the information used to come to this conclusion was provided by the Iranians.

Since then, an Iranian opposition group (NCRI) has come out and said that the US information is only half true.  They agree that Iran ceased their nuclear weapons program in 2003 but only to regroup in 2004 for the purpose of better concealing it.

"They scattered the weaponization program to other locations and restarted in 2004," Mohammad Mohaddessin, NCRI's foreign affairs chief, told the Wall Street Journal.

"Their strategy was that if the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) found any one piece of this research program, it would be possible to justify it as civilian. But so long as it was all together, they wouldn't be able to."  FOXNEWS

The NCRI, whose information has always been a bit suspect, say they have people on the inside who are well connected with Iran's nuclear program and have verified this information to be true.

There's no question in my mind that Iran is still pursuing a secret agenda.  My only concern is how much the Bush administration knows.  Some are saying that President Bush has been duped into believing that Iran has ceased its nuclear program.  His comments following a meeting with Italian President Giorgio Napolitano seem to signal that Mr. Bush maybe having second thoughts regarding the validity of the report.

"Iran is dangerous," Bush said after an Oval Office meeting with Italian President Giorgio Napolitano. "We believe Iran had a secret military weapons program, and Iran must explain to the world why they had a program." AP

In light of allegations that a secret meeting between the US and Iran took place in Saudi Arabia, I'm not fully convinced that President Bush's statements are completely sincere. From a prophetic perspective, I tend to believe the US has indeed made a secret deal with Iran trading Israel's security for US-Middle East interests (see Article# 735 ). 

I have no way of judging President Bush's sincerity but an agreement with Iran would certainly make Middle East peace much easier.  For one, Iran essentially controls all terrorist activity that goes on in and around Israel. Could this be the real reason behind why Hamas has suddenly decided to pursue a dialogue with the US?  Two, Iran has been a constant thorn in the side of US efforts both in Afghanistan and Iraq. Over the last several months, violence in both countries has dropped dramatically...and there are other signs (I won't addresss) that the US and Iran may have come to an understanding.

Personally, I believe this disclosure by the NCRI was unexpected news for Bush and has forced him to step up his rhetoric toward Iran. Whether it is anything more than lip service is the question.

Speaking of Hamas, not only have they reached out to the US, but sources say they are now ready to make deep concessions to resolve their conflict with rival Fatah.

"As part of these concessions, Hamas would hand back control of security agencies and Palestinian Authority administrative institutions in Gaza to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Mashaal reportedly told officials in Riyadh during a round of talks in the Saudi capital.

Additionally, Hamas would agree to the establishment of a central Palestinian government that would control both Gaza and the West Bank.

Hussein Abu Qweik, a senior Hamas official, told the London paper [al-Sharq al-Awsat] that these new concessions were aimed at facilitating a renewal of the dialogue between the rivaling Palestinian movements."  YNETnews.com