Question: Who has done the most over the last 10 years to help Iran achieve its goal of regional dominance? If you’re thinking Russia, North Korea or Syria, or perhaps Hezbollah, Hamas or al Qaeda, think again.

The most important contributor to Iran’s rise has been the United States and its Western partners.

Our record is impressive. In spring 2003, we invaded Iraq and toppled Saddam Hussein, whose regime pretty much single-handedly kept Iran in check for two decades. In 2005, we endorsed Lebanon’s Cedar Revolution, which ultimately gave rise to the current Hezbollah-dominated government. This February, America and its Western allies proudly supported the removal of Hosni Mubarak, the man responsible for keeping the lid on radical Islam in Egypt and forging Cairo as a regional counterweight to Iran. Right now in Yemen, America is endorsing the ouster of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, which would place another feather in the cap of Iran, since it has supplied money and weapons both to Shiite al Houthi forces and to al Qaeda cells there in order to foment chaos in the Gulf state and to distance it from Saudi Arabia.

Now, thanks largely to Western brawn, Libyan strongman Muammar Qadhafi is gone.

There was plenty that was ugly about Hussein, Mubarak and Qadhafi. But in their own unique way, each was a bulwark against Iran, its extremist Islamic proxies and radical Islam’s overarching ambition of regional, and eventually global, domination. With Saddam gone, for example, Iraq today belongs to Iran in all but name. And while it’s only been six months since Mubarak was dumped, events like the recent terrorist attack launched from the Sinai confirm radical Islam’s controlling influence over Egypt.

With Qadhafi gone, Libya is a sitting duck.

And Iran, it appears, has already made significant inroads. On Sunday, Iranian Foreign Minister Alu Akbar Salehi told Jam-e-Jam newspaper that Tehran had been supporting the rebels in Libya. “We were in touch with many of the rebel groups in Libya before the fall of (Muammar) Qadhafi, and discreetly dispatched three or four food and medical consignments to Benghazi,” Salehi told the daily. He also stated that: “The head of [Libya’s] National Transitional Council (ntc), Mustafa Abdel Jalil, sent a letter of thanks to President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for having been on their side and helping.”

That’s a shocking admission: Iran, it seems, has already developed a cozy working relationship with Libya’s new government!

When the rebels penetrated Tripoli last week, Iran sent a note congratulating the ntc and encouraging it to “prevent foreigners, especially yesterday’s oppressors and those which have claims today, from meddling with their fate.”

The West thinks the battle for Libya is over now that Qadhafi is gone. In reality, the battle for Libya has only just started—and already Iran and radical Islam have the upper hand.

In a report released by a French commission of inquiry in May, it was indicated that Islamic terrorists have deeply infiltrated the rebels in Libya. According to the report, jihadists have played a predominant role in the Libyan rebellion, while “true democrats” represent only a minority. The report revealed that the ntc is comprised of four factions: “true democrats”; partisans of a restoration of the monarchy that was overthrown by Qadhafi in 1969; Islamic extremists seeking the establishment of an Islamic state; and former figures in the Qadhafi regime who defected for opportunistic or other reasons. Many of the monarchists are also Islamists.

Although the president of the ntc is a “traditionalist,” the report stated, he’s “supported by the Islamists.”

Sound familiar? Egypt also has multiple political parties, including a few “true democrats.” And just as will likely eventually happen in Libya, Egypt appears to be embracing democratic institutions, a constitution and the rule of law, free and fair elections, and an open judicial system. In reality these are superficial gestures: Egypt today belongs to the Muslim Brotherhood.

Expect the same in Libya.

“The nato intervention [in Libya] in March 2011 was done without due diligence as to who it is in Benghazi that it was helping,” wrote Middle East expert Daniel Pipes. The “chances are good that Islamist forces are hiding behind more benign elements, waiting for the right moment to pounce …. I fear that a dead-end despotism will be replaced by the agents of a worldwide ideological movement. I fear that Western forces will have brought civilization’s worst enemies to power” (emphasis added throughout).

Again.

Historian Victor Davis Hanson is also worried. One of two scenarios is likely, he says. There will be “either a sort of on-again-off-again chaos until a military-backed clique or strongman emerges and the same old cycle resumes, or some sort of constitutional system in a decidedly Islamic context ….” In other words, Libya, like Iraq and Egypt, will fall under the influence if Islam. If that happens, warned Hanson, “we could expect the new state’s foreign policy to be anti-Western, friendly to China and Russia, virulently and actively anti-Israel, and more accommodating with Iran and its subsidized terrorist appendages.”

As rebel forces entered Tripoli last week, a draft copy of Libya’s new constitution surfaced on the Internet. The document is filled with terms that thrill Western liberals, terms like “democracy,” “freedom,” “equality,” “rule of law” and “equal opportunity.” Less emphasized but of extreme importance, however, is Article 1, which establishes sharia law as the supreme law of the land. “Islam is the religion of the state, and the principle source of legislation is Islamic jurisprudence (sharia),” it states.

Perhaps there will be “freedom” and “democracy” and “equality,” but it will be subject to sharia law, which among other things mandates the killing of infidels and the establishment of a global Islamic caliphate!

In the weeks and months ahead the situation in Libya will likely get very messy. Iran is not the only major state that will attempt to establish Tripoli as a political and strategic ally. Libya contains the largest oil reserves in Africa and is not an insignificant component of global energy supplies. It also has 1,100 miles of coastline on the Mediterranean, putting it within easy reach of Constantinople, Rome and the shores of Spain and France. With so much at stake strategically and financially, Europe will also demand a role in shaping Tripoli’s future.

In addition to Iran and Europe, don’t be surprised if China wants in on the action too. Beijing is heavily invested in North Africa and will undoubtedly be on the prowl for opportunities to snatch up oil or other Libyan resources.

In the end though, Libya will pitch its tent in Iran’s camp. Ideologically, Libya is more closely aligned with Iran than either Europe or China. More importantly, the reason we expect Libya to fall under the radical Islamists is that Bible prophecy says so! You can read the specific prophecy in Daniel 11:40-45. Notice, Libya here is mentioned by name, and it is aligned with the “king of the south,” which, as we have explained so often, is Iran and radical Islam.

In April this year, Trumpet editor in chief Gerald Flurry explained this prophecy in Daniel in detail and made some striking forecasts. “[Y]ou need to watch Libya and Ethiopia,” he wrote. “They are about to fall under the heavy influence or control of Iran, the king of the south. … You need to continue to watch for Libya and Ethiopia to make a severe and rapid turn into the radical Islamic camp.”

This past week marks a milestone in the fulfillment of this central prophecy.

With Qadhafi gone, Libya’s slide into the radical Islamic camp will only accelerate.