The Middle East is becoming more dangerous by the day. Iran remains defiant, Israel says it is being restrained from taking further military action, Turkey continues building its power, and Christians across the Islamic world are facing imprisonment, intimidation, and death.
My guests, Aharon Levarko and Shahram Hadian, joined me to examine these developments from their unique perspectives. Aharon is our reporter from Israel, while Shahram was born in Iran and escaped with his family shortly before the fall of the Shah. Together, they helped us understand the military, political, religious, and prophetic forces now converging across the region.
Is America Preventing Israel From Defeating Iran?
We began with a troubling report that Israel’s defense minister says the United States is preventing Israel from fighting Iran as aggressively as it would like.
President Trump had previously declared that attacks on American ships or regional partners would bring retaliation against Iranian bridges and power plants. Yet those promised responses had not taken place.
Shahram suggested several possible explanations. President Trump continues to view himself as a peacemaker and may believe he can resolve the conflict through negotiation. At the same time, reports have raised questions about whether the United States has the necessary munitions to sustain an expanded war.
Shahram warned that the mixed messaging communicates weakness and uncertainty. He also questioned whether the damage inflicted on Iran has been as extensive as publicly claimed.
This would not be the first time the United States restrained Israel. Shahram recalled an earlier stage of the conflict when Israel appeared to be making significant progress against Iran before American intervention brought the campaign to a halt.
The central question is therefore not simply whether Israel wants to strike Iran. It is why the United States continues preventing Israel from doing what its leaders believe is necessary.
Could Defections Bring Down Iran’s Regime?
Shahram also discussed reports that Reza Pahlavi has received private communications from members of Iran’s police and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps who may be prepared to defect.
Their condition is that they must believe the campaign against the regime will continue to its conclusion. They do not want another cycle of threats, negotiations, temporary agreements, and renewed repression.
Shahram argued that mass defections could be the most effective way to arm the Iranian people without placing foreign troops inside the country. If even 20 or 30 percent of Iran’s security personnel defected with their weapons, the balance of power inside Iran could change dramatically.
Aharon noted that intelligence services such as Mossad and the CIA could potentially assist underground networks and encourage such defections.
He also interpreted Israel’s public complaint about American restraint as a calculated signal. By announcing that Israel wants to attack but is being held back, Israeli leaders may be warning the Iranian regime and reassuring the Iranian people that Israel remains prepared to act.
Are the Wars in Ukraine and Iran Beginning to Merge?
Another disturbing development is the possibility that the war between Russia and Ukraine is colliding with the conflict involving Iran.
We discussed reports that Ukraine may have struck an Iranian vessel and that Iran has threatened retaliation. Other reports raised the possibility of Ukrainian and Saudi involvement against Iran.
Shahram explained that Russia and China may be providing Iran with information regarding American bases and assets. If Ukraine begins openly assisting operations against Iran while Russia supports Tehran, the two wars could become increasingly interconnected.
Aharon warned that Ukraine would likely require a strong financial or strategic incentive to expand its involvement. Ukraine is already stretched by its war with Russia and would not enter another theater without expecting weapons, money, political support, or another significant benefit.
If Ukraine and Israel begin operating together against Iran while Russia and China support the Iranian regime, the alliances could pull additional nations into the conflict. NATO would then face major complications—particularly because Turkey is a NATO member with its own relationship with Russia and the wider Islamic world.
At some point, the distinction between several regional wars and a global war may become impossible to maintain.
The Growing Threat From Turkey
Turkey may be one of the most important and underestimated players in the entire region.
Turkey possesses NATO’s second-largest military and has acquired a Russian missile-defense system. Nevertheless, President Trump has indicated interest in providing Turkey with advanced F-35 aircraft.
Shahram described that possibility as extraordinarily dangerous. Providing Turkey with fifth-generation stealth aircraft while it maintains Russian defense technology could threaten Israel, the United States, and NATO itself.
Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has previously spoken about the possibility of a land invasion of Israel and the capture of Jerusalem. Turkey also continues working with Qatar, which Shahram identified as a major financial supporter of the Muslim Brotherhood.
For years, we have warned that the center of Sunni Islamic power is shifting away from Saudi Arabia and toward Turkey. Qatar may provide the financing, but Erdoğan increasingly appears to be the political leader seeking dominance of the Sunni Islamic world.
The danger is not merely what Turkey possesses today. It is what Erdoğan intends to do when he believes the timing is right.
Erdoğan’s Neo-Ottoman Ambitions
Aharon explained that Turkey’s military strength gives Erdoğan considerable options, but geography remains a major obstacle.
For Turkey to move directly toward Israel, it must deal with Syria. Southern Turkey borders Syria, and Israel lies beyond Syria to the south. Any Turkish advance toward Israel would therefore require control, cooperation, or passage through Syrian territory.
Aharon discussed reports that Syria’s new leadership may be pursuing security arrangements with Israel. Such an agreement could reflect Syrian concern about Turkish power.
Turkey’s ambitions should also alarm Christians. Christian communities once represented approximately 20 percent of the population in the region that became modern Turkey. According to the material discussed during the program, that number has fallen to approximately 0.2 percent.
Christian churches face restrictions not applied to mosques. Historic Armenian, Greek Orthodox, and Assyrian churches are monitored. Foreign pastors and missionaries have reportedly been deported or denied reentry for publicly evangelizing, while converts from Islam face family rejection, harassment, and threats of violence.
Aharon reminded us that Ottoman Turks slaughtered approximately 1.5 million Armenians and other Christians more than a century ago. Turkey has never fully acknowledged or repented of that history.
If I were a Christian living in Turkey, I would be watching Erdoğan’s growing power very carefully.
The Houthis’ Crackdown on Christians in Yemen
The persecution is not limited to Turkey.
We discussed reports that more than 60 Christians had been detained in Yemen during an extraordinary crackdown. Some were reportedly taken at checkpoints in front of their families. Others were removed from their homes before neighbors and transported to undisclosed locations.
As fear spread through Yemen’s Christian community, believers went into hiding, moved to other provinces, turned off their phones, and in some cases destroyed their devices to avoid being tracked.
Family members who were permitted to visit imprisoned Christians were reportedly shocked by how sick and aged they appeared after a relatively short period in custody.
These accounts illustrate the reality confronting believers in Islamic nations. The persecution is physical, psychological, technological, and spiritual. Christians are not merely being excluded from public life. Many are being hunted, imprisoned, and pressured to abandon their faith.
Islam’s Role in End-Times Persecution
Shahram and I discussed why Islam may play a much larger role in the Tribulation than many modern prophecy teachers previously considered.
Shahram argued that Islam contributes to the spiritual deception that could help form a future one-world religious system. Interfaithism, ecumenicalism, and multi-faith movements have often been used to convince Christians and Jews that Islam can be harmonized with biblical faith.
He also drew attention to Revelation’s description of believers being beheaded because of their testimony and their refusal to worship the Beast or receive his mark.
Shahram asked a direct question: What ideology is most closely associated with beheading its religious enemies?
His answer was Islam.
He also noted that more than 40 of the 50 countries identified as the worst persecutors of Christians are Islamic nations. Yemen ranks near the top, while Iran and Pakistan also appear prominently. Turkey has returned to the list as its treatment of Christians deteriorates.
According to Shahram, the world is experiencing the greatest numerical persecution of Christians in church history. Islam is the central force behind much of it, yet many prophecy teachers continue ignoring that reality.
Could Persecution Come to America?
Aharon explained that what he has observed while traveling across the United States has alarmed him.
He has seen expanding Muslim influence in places such as Michigan and Minnesota, with similar concerns arising in Texas and other states. If Islamic persecution is increasing globally, Christians cannot assume the United States will remain permanently exempt.
Aharon asked how Christians should prepare.
Prayer is essential, but he argued that believers must also consider practical preparation. Christians should build relationships with trustworthy people, strengthen their communities, improve their physical condition, and become properly trained in lawful self-defense.
He compared this with Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria. In isolated areas, there may not be enough military or police personnel to protect every family. Residents therefore accept responsibility for defending their homes and neighbors.
The lesson is simple: Christians should not wait until danger arrives to begin preparing.
The Red-Green Alliance Inside America
Our discussion then turned to the alliance between Marxists and Islamists operating inside the United States.
We examined Democratic Socialists of America candidates and leaders advocating radical changes, including opening prisons, weakening national defense, and dismantling major constitutional institutions.
I warned that their public statements do not reveal the entire plan.
Marxists do not intend to eliminate the courts. They intend to capture and weaponize them. They do not intend to permanently empty the prisons. They intend to release criminals who can be used as political enforcers and then fill those same prisons with Christians, Jews, Zionists, and political opponents.
They do not intend to destroy military power. They intend to turn it inward against the American people.
Shahram added that Muslim influence inside police departments could create local enforcement arms for this red-green alliance. The combination of Marxist political power and Islamist religious hostility presents a profound threat to Christians, constitutional government, private property, and support for Israel.
America No Longer Shares a Common Worldview
One of the most sobering questions raised during the program was whether the United States can remain united when Americans no longer share foundational beliefs.
Large parts of the country reject biblical morality, private property, constitutional limits, the traditional family, religious liberty, and even the legitimacy of the nation itself.
Shahram said this is no longer merely a political disagreement. It is a conflict over survival.
One side wants to preserve constitutional government, religious liberty, the family, and the right to defend oneself. The other contains movements that want to dismantle those institutions and punish those who resist.
Shahram suggested that the country may eventually face three possibilities: one side submits to the other, the nation enters some form of civil conflict, or the country divides.
The Soviet and British empires both fractured. America should not assume it is immune from a similar fate.
Christians Must Build Strong Communities
Shahram emphasized that believers cannot prepare for future trouble as isolated individuals.
They must identify trustworthy, like-minded people now. Families should develop local networks capable of helping one another during emergencies, political instability, persecution, or social unrest.
This means counting the cost before the crisis begins. It means knowing who can be trusted, determining how families will communicate, and deciding how communities will protect their children, homes, churches, and vulnerable members.
The system is showing signs of strain. Police may arrive too late. Government institutions may become hostile. Technology may be used to track rather than protect citizens.
Christians should therefore understand that they are often their own first responders. They must be prepared to care for their health, protect their families, and help their neighbors while remaining faithful to biblical principles.
Watching the Prophetic Convergence
The purpose of discussing these developments is not to create fear. It is to understand the times through the lens of Scripture.
Iran’s war with Israel, Turkey’s military ambitions, Russia and China’s involvement, Ukraine’s possible entrance into the Iranian conflict, the persecution of Christians, the growth of Islamic power, expanding Marxism, and the collapse of shared values inside America are not isolated stories.
They are converging.
We do not know precisely when the prophetic events described in Scripture will unfold. But we can see the stage being prepared through military alliances, religious persecution, technological surveillance, political radicalism, and growing hostility toward Christians and Jews.
This is not the time for believers to retreat into denial. It is the time to study God’s Word, strengthen our families, build faithful communities, defend the truth, and remain watchmen on the wall.
