Even events we should certainly be aware of in the Middle East, like the "Arab Spring" and efforts to proclaim a Palestinian state, can distract our focus away from other important developments in the region. Iran is a case in point.

Emanuele Ottolenghi, senior fellow at the Foundation for Defence of Democracies in Washington, D.C., stated, "Iran's nuclear clock continues to tick and the hour of reckoning may now be near" ("Iran's Making a Bomb, All Else Is a Lie," The Jewish Chronicle, Sept. 16, 2011).

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) continually monitors Iran's compliance with the nuclear non-proliferation treaty. Its latest quarterly report concludes bluntly: "Iran is violating the treaty and, despite mounting pressure from a progressively expanding regime of sanctions, Tehran relentlessly pursues its nuclear ambitions while protesting its innocence. But Iran's claims are lies" (ibid.).

Iranian stockpiles of uranium are growing, and the country is installing many centrifuges to further enrich uranium. Ottolenghi's concluding analysis: "Iran's cat and mouse game has given Tehran time to develop its nuclear programme—and given its progress, it may soon be too late to stop them."

These significant events in the Middle East require our serious attention (see Luke 21:34-36). To properly grasp the historic and prophetic implications, request or download our free booklet The Middle East in Bible Prophecy. (Source: The Jewish Chronicle [London].)