Here are five of the most important news stories this week, as well as relevant links to the full articles and videos here on theTrumpet.com.

Secret Long-range Missile Facility Discovered in Iran

Iran’s long-range-missile program, previously believed to have ended with an explosion at one facility on Nov. 12, 2011, is actually alive and well, according to weapons researchers at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in California.

The New York Times reported May 23 that “five outside experts who independently reviewed the findings agreed that there was compelling evidence that Iran is developing long-range missile technology.”

The size of the stands for firing those test missiles and the type of fuel Iran is using for its test rockets reveal an intent to fire missiles as far west as central Europe—at a moment’s notice.

Sweden Prepares Its Citizens for War

For the first time in 70 years, Sweden is distributing pamphlets with detailed instructions of how its citizens can prepare for war.

“For many years, the preparations made in Sweden for the threat of war and war have been very limited,” the pamphlets state. However, “as the world around us has changed, the government has decided to strengthen Sweden’s total defense.” Project leader for the leaflets Christina Andersson said, “All of society needs to be prepared for conflict, not just the military.”

Last year, Sweden brought back military conscription. The Swedish government is increasing its defense spending and discussing joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

There is a sobering reason why this Scandinavian country is preparing its citizens for war.

Agricultural Terrorism Sweeps Across Israel

Israeli farmers have been offered cash incentives by the Agriculture and Finance ministries to harvest their fields sooner in light of growing agricultural terrorism, according to reports from May 22.

“For the past several weeks,” reported the Times of Israel, “Gazans have been regularly flying kites outfitted with containers of burning fuel, often including charcoal and bags of sugar to ensure a long, slow burn.” It is just another attempt by the Palestinians to cripple and defeat Israel, and control Jerusalem.

America’s Food Supply—Vulnerable to a Siege

Experts have recently warned that the constant availability of food is not as secure as we’d like to think.

“Our food is transported via increasingly long and complex supply chains that often involve ships; at any given time, there are some 100,000 ships at sea transporting food and other commodities,” said British geographer Sir Nigel Thrift. “Most of the ships pass through a small number of choke points, which are very easy to attack.”

Elisabeth Braw, senior fellow at the Atlantic Council, wrote in Defense One: “Cutting off international and national food supply chains is, in fact, the easiest way to bring us to our knees.”

Japan Threatens United States With Tariffs

Japan is threatening to retaliate against the American import taxes, joining other increasingly hostile trading partners. Japan’s proposed retaliatory tariffs on U.S. exports would add up to about $3.5 billion every year. While that amount is relatively small, experts fear that this is just one step on the road to trade war.

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