“The time when only a few states had access to the most dangerous technologies is past.” So said Director of National Intelligence James Clapper in an annual U.S. intelligence assessment on Capitol Hill on January 29. The report was a condemning proclamation of Iran’s nuclear ambitions, and is a blaring alarm that tells us just how close Iran has come to constructing a nuclear bomb.

The push by Iran to obtain nuclear weapons constitutes “a major threat to the security of the United States, deployed troops and allies,” said Clapper. But in reality, it is a threat to much more than just America. The entire world is threatened when a violent and radical nation such as Iran has its finger on the trigger of a nuclear weapon. Remember that radical Islam desires violence to hasten the coming of its messianic 12th imam.

So just how close are the Iranians to getting their bomb and initiating war on a level never before seen?

Iran Has the Technology

According to Clapper’s report, “Iran’s overarching strategic goals of enhancing its security, prestige and regional influence have led it to pursue capabilities to meet its civilian goals and give it the ability to build missile-deliverable nuclear weapons, if it chooses to do so.” The report highlighted three factors that play in to Iran obtaining a missile-capable nuclear weapon. The first is Iran’s technological advancements.

A nuclear weapon could be made, but Iran still needs a way to carry the weapon. The Iranians developed that carrier system long ago: ballistic missiles. The report goes on: “We judge that Iran would choose a ballistic missile as its preferred method of delivering nuclear weapons. … Iran’s ballistic missiles are inherently capable of delivering wmd, and Iran already has the largest inventory of ballistic missiles in the Middle East.”

Iran regularly tests and develops its ballistic missile capabilities. In 2012, then-Israeli Finance Minister Yuval Steinitz told cnbc: “We estimate that in 2 to 3 years [Iran] will have the first intercontinental ballistic missiles (icbm) that can reach the east coast of America.” Two years on, Iran is forging ahead with the development of its icbms.

On Nov. 26, 2013, Brig. Gen. Hossein Salami, lieutenant commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (ircg), announced that Iran had developed “indigenous” ballistic missile technology. Combining this claim with the fact that Iran has vast stockpiles of short- and medium-range ballistic missiles such as the Shahab-3, we can see that Iran clearly has the means of launching a nuclear device.

Another missile in Iran’s arsenal is the Safir-2, which was used in Iran’s first satellite launch in 2009. Notice just how far Iran has come in the last five years. The ballistic weapons industry in Iran is booming in every sense of the word. If Iran already has the largest stock of ballistic weapons in the Middle East, what comes next?

Iran Has the Industry

The second factor that plays into Iran having a nuclear bomb is the means to produce the necessary highly enriched uranium. This is where Iran faces the greatest hindrances from the international community. Until recently, crippling sanctions had severely limited Iran’s ability to produce the nuclear material necessary for the bomb.

According to the report however, despite being burdened with sanctions, Iran has not stopped its development of nuclear facilities. The report highlighted:

Of particular note, Iran has made progress during the past year by installing additional centrifuges at the Fuel Enrichment Plant, developing advanced centrifuge designs, and stockpiling more low-enriched uranium hexafluoride. These improvements have better positioned Iran to produce weapons-grade uranium using its declared facilities and uranium stockpiles, if it chooses to do so.

This statement shows the overarching failure to stop Iran by way of sanctions, and the current industrial capabilities Iran possesses. On top of that, the statement also scraps Washington’s idea that things would be different under Iran’s new president, Hassan Rouhani.

Iran Has the Leader

The third and final element needed for Iran to produce a nuclear weapon is the right leader. As the report says, Tehran already has the technical and industrial capabilities necessary. “This makes the central issue its political will to do so,” wrote Clapper. Notice that. All Iran needs is a leader who wants the nuke badly enough.

Facts in the report are very different from what the Obama administration would have us believe. They reveal whose tune the Iranian president is dancing to.

President Rouhani has heralded a shift in political momentum in Iran toward the center, but we do not know whether he heralds a reversal of the authoritarian trend in Iranian politics …. Since his election, Rouhani has had the support of the supreme leader, which has silenced some conservative critics. … Rouhani must maintain the backing of the supreme leader in order to continue to advance his political agenda.

This statement clearly illustrates who rules in Tehran: Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Rouhani can’t risk deviating from the policies preferred by the supreme leader lest he be thrown to the hardline wolves of the nation. And just what does Khamenei want? What has he striven for throughout the past decade? Nuclear weapons.

While Clapper and his White House associates might be unsure of Rouhani, they certainly see him as the best way to curb Iran from its path to nuclear weapons. In doing so, they make the fatal mistake of overlooking the fact that Rouhani is only ruling at the supreme leader’s behest. Rouhani was hand-selected by the ayatollah out of over 200 candidates to run for office. Also, Rouhani can’t act without the permission of the supreme leader, whose ideologies call for the destruction of the West and the establishment of a worldwide Islamic caliphate.

You Can Understand

Iran now has everything it needs to construct a nuclear device in the near future. It has the technology, the industrial capability and the leadership necessary to steer Iran down such a path. On the flip side, the world lacks the discernment to see where Iran is headed. Even Clapper, after presenting so much overwhelming information in the report, said, “We do not know if Iran will eventually decide to build nuclear weapons.”

Not only do so many fail to see Iran’s regional ambitions, they cannot understand the prophetic significance of Iran’s belligerence!

As Iran races toward nuclear armaments, it is simultaneously exerting more and more influence over the Middle East and the broader international community. Iranian missiles can already reach well into Europe, and it has a stranglehold on the Persian Gulf and the oil that flows out through the Strait of Hormuz. Iran is instigating violence and perpetuating the spread of radical Islam through its proxies, and exploiting conflicts which promote its own foreign policy agenda.

All these factors work together to constitute a massive push, directed primarily at the Western world. And such a push is prophesied in your Bible. If only the Intelligence Department and all those who evaluate what Iran is doing could understand Daniel 11:40. But you can understand!

Much of the understanding surrounding the book of Daniel was given to Herbert W. Armstrong. Mr. Armstrong founded the Radio Church of God, renamed the Worldwide Church of God, and taught about its end-time prophecies until his death in 1986.

Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry wrote in the July 1993 Trumpet magazine: “So when does the king of the south ‘push’ at the king of the north? It must happen after the book of Daniel was revealed to Herbert W. Armstrong in this end time. Daniel 12:9 tells us the time of the end begins when Daniel was revealed. [The book can only be understood in this end time (Daniel 12:4, 9).] So the king of the south must arise after Daniel was revealed to God’s end-time Church—specifically to Herbert W. Armstrong.”

Mr. Flurry continued, “These verses [Daniel 11:40-43] point to a king of the south that is yet future. And I believe all indications point to radical Islam, headed by Iran, as this king.”

Mr. Flurry later wrote in a 2011 article titled “Libya and Ethiopia Reveal Iran’s Military Strategy”:

You can create a lot of chaos with many terrorists and nuclear bombs. Never in this modern age has a powerful nation held such extremely dangerous beliefs. That makes Iran a terrifying danger far removed from what we have ever faced before!No other nation on this Earth brings such certain and deadly danger to this world! It is on a path that must lead to war!

This prophecy, to be fulfilled in our lifetime, should have us watching events in the Middle East with uttermost intensity. Bible prophecy doesn’t end with Iran rising as this king of the south. Rather, it is the spark that will ignite conflict throughout the world, fulfilling many more of the prophecies in the Bible!

If you haven’t already, request a free copy of The King of the South. It will explain this prophecy in great detail and show you the hope that still remains for those who will heed today!

Mr. Flurry continues:

The end time has arrived! Mighty prophecies are being fulfilled before your eyes! That means monstrous and lightning-fast changes in world events. But these extremely dangerous end-time events conclude with the coming of the Messiah. That is the finale to the longest single prophecy in the Bible! …Bible prophecy proves that God is alive and His plan always prevails. It is time for all mankind to wake up to the reality of Bible prophecy!The extremely good news is that these cataclysmic events lead directly to the Second Coming of Christ. Then Christ will rule this Earth forever under the direction of His Father.Mankind’s terrible suffering is about to end forever.