A week ago Sunday, Afghanistan agreed to a long-term friendship and cooperation pact with Iran. The agreement brings to light two key subjects of Bible prophecy that the Trumpet has warned about for years: The fall of America and the rise of the king of the south. Both prophecies are being fulfilled, and a security pact like this should focus us on their soon-coming, world-altering fulfillment.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai rushed to Tehran to sign off on the cooperation pact which his spokesman said “will be for long-term political, security, economic and cultural cooperation, regional peace and security.”

The speed at which Afghanistan and Iran secured this deal will undoubtedly leave many in Washington more than a little nervous. For more than a decade, the U.S. has spoken of maintaining a continued presence in Afghanistan following the withdrawal of the majority of its troops. With the December 2014 withdrawal deadline looming, time is running out to formulate and sign an agreement to keep U.S. troops in the country.

To make matters worse, Karzai made some sudden demands, telling America that no bilateral security agreement would be signed unless his 11th-hour conditions were met. So far, America has refused to give in to these demands. But Karzai has been challenging U.S. influence in the country more and more as the occupation has worn on. Slowly but surely, occupying forces have dwindled and no deal has been struck between Washington and Kabul. Now, if the U.S. wants even 8,000 soldiers left after 2014, they must bow to Karzai’s demands.

Karzai originally promised to sign an agreement by the end of this year. But there appears to have been a change of heart. Now Karzai has demanded new stringent restrictions on U.S. military jurisdiction be enacted, and has demanded the release of 17 Afghanis from Guantanamo Bay. He also said he wouldn’t sign a bilateral security agreement until his successor was chosen.

Now to cap it all off, Afghanistan has gone and made an agreement with Iran. Only a matter of hours after signing the “pact of friendship,” as Afghan officials called it, Iranian national news reported Rouhani as saying, “We believe that all foreign forces should leave the region and that the security of Afghanistan should be handed over to people of the country.”

Karzai’s actions say a lot about America’s long term relationship with Afghanistan. Karzai’s spokesman, Aimal Faizi said at the time of the deal, “We need to enhance our relationships with our neighbors because these are the countries we have our future with.”

The entire scenario shows the rapid decline of America in the Middle East. The January 2014 Trumpet magazine has an article titled “Conquering the Holy Land” which expounds on the ramifications of America’s decline in the region and the prophecies that will be fulfilled in a Mideast devoid of U.S. influence.

One such prophecy that can be seen in the recent deal between Afghanistan and Iran is the rise of the king of the south. This king, identified as an alliance of radical Islamic nations led by Iran, will come to power in the Middle East and is prophesied to trigger World War iii!

Iran doesn’t like the idea of U.S. troops positioned so close to its borders, and will wheel and deal with Afghanistan in order to safeguard its eastern border from American influence. Rouhani may seem to be cozying up to America, but his actions with Karzai show that he is focused on getting them out of the region and filling the void with Iranian influence.

These prophecies being fulfilled in the Middle East are showing themselves in many ways. If you want to understand the prophetic fulfillment governing the Middle East today, be sure to request a copy of The King of the South and History and Prophecy of the Middle East.