Iran Raises Black Flag Over One Of The World's Largest Mosques In Ominous Sign
By Michael Snyder/Economic Collapse Blog October 21, 2023
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All of the signs are telling us that a war between Israel and Hezbollah is imminent. And once it begins, the U.S. and Iran will inevitably get sucked into the conflict as well. We are literally talking about an apocalyptic scenario, and that is going to have enormous implications for all of us.
Hezbollah has an arsenal of 130,000 missiles that it can launch at Israeli cities, Iran possesses even greater firepower than Hezbollah does, and the Israelis have quite a few surprises up their sleeves. I will just leave it at that for now. As this war evolves, the entire world will be shocked by the death and destruction that we witness.
Unfortunately, there is no turning back now.
On Wednesday, the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia and Iran met in Jeddah...
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan met his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian on the sidelines of a meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in Jeddah, where they discussed the current military escalation in Gaza and surrounding areas, the Kingdom's foreign ministry said on X.
Based on what they have been hearing from the Iranians, the Saudis must believe that a war between Israel and Hezbollah is imminent, because they have instructed their citizens to leave Lebanon immediately...
Saudi Arabia calls on its citizens to abide by the travel advisory to Lebanon and for those in the country to immediately leave.
The Saudi Embassy in Lebanon said it was closely following developments in south Lebanon, "calling on all citizens to adhere to the travel ban and to leave Lebanese territory immediately for those who are currently in Lebanon."
The U.S. State Department also seems convinced that big trouble is brewing...
The US is elevating its travel advisory and allowing non-emergency personnel to leave Lebanon after the embassy in Beirut was targeted by Pro-Palestinian protestors who started a fire at the complex.
US military groups deployed smoke and gas to disperse the protestors who gathered at the embassy following an attack on a hospital in Gaza. Hours after the protests began, the State Department issued the travel advisory.
'The Department authorized the voluntary, temporary departure of family members of US government personnel and some non-emergency personnel from US Embassy Beirut due to the unpredictable security situation in Lebanon,' the announcement read.
This is likely just the first step toward a full evacuation of the U.S. embassy in Beirut.
Israel also appears to be preparing for a war with Hezbollah to erupt.
As I discussed yesterday, 28 towns and communities along Israel's northern border are being evacuated.
On the other side of that border, there are reports that peacekeepers are evacuating in anticipation of the coming conflict...
Arab and Iranian social media channels are publishing footage in which, allegedly, UNIFIL forces, the peacekeepers in Southern Lebanon, are urgently evacuating their base in Naqoura on the border with Israel, in anticipation of war.
In this world, what people actually do is far more important than what they say.
And right now everyone is telling us the exact same thing by their actions.
In Iran, a black flag has been ominously raised above the Imam Reza Mosque.
There has been a lot of debate about what this could mean.
In the contemporary Islamist movement, the black flag is used to evoke notions of jihad and of reestablishing the Islamic Caliphate.
It can also be used as a symbol in Islamic eschatology heralding the advent of the Islamic Mahdi, where armies of Muslims will carry the black banner forward as they march forward to establish the Mahdi's caliphate.
Without a doubt, it certainly isn't a good sign to have a black flag flying on top of one of the world's largest mosques...
In a historic and unprecedented move, a black flag has been hoisted above the illuminated Razavi dome, of the Imam Reza mosque complex in Iran - a stark departure from tradition as it's outside of Muharram, the month of mourning in the Islamic calendar.
The Imam Reza mosque complex in Mashhad, Iran, home to the mausoleum of Imam Reza, also known as Ali al-Rida, is an iconic religious complex and the largest mosque in the world by area.
At this stage, it is difficult to imagine a scenario in which a full-blown regional war does not erupt.
And the U.S. military has brought a lot of firepower into the region in case that happens...
The United States is amassing a war machine in the Middle East in a clear message to Iran to stay on the sidelines as Israel prepares to launch a ground invasion into Gaza to destroy the terror group Hamas.
Within hours of the horrific onslaught on Israel by Hamas on Oct. 7 the U.S. began moving warships, jets and special forces to the region.
Two aircraft carriers including the world's largest - the USS Gerald R. Ford - have been sent to the eastern Mediterranean, along with scores of planes that could carry out air strikes.
If the U.S. is forced to help defend Israel against Hezbollah, there will be widespread support from across the political spectrum.
Of course there would be exceptions, but overall most members of Congress support U.S. military action if that becomes necessary.
For example, during an appearance on Meet the Press U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham had some very threatening words for both Iran and Hezbollah...
"Here's my message: If Hezbollah, which is a proxy of Iran, launches a massive attack on Israel, I would consider that a threat to the state of Israel existential in nature," he added.
Graham said he will introduce a resolution in the Senate to "allow military action by the United States in conjunction with Israel to knock Iran out of the oil business."
In a direct message to Iran, he said, "Iran, if you escalate this war, we're coming for you."
Unfortunately, such threats are not causing Hezbollah to back down.
In fact, there were more clashes along Israel's northern border on Wednesday...
Hezbollah said it had attacked five locations on Wednesday including an Israeli barracks in Zar'it and a position across the border from Lebanon's Ras Naqoura area, using guided missiles in several of the strikes.
The Israeli army said it was responding to shots fired at its military posts in the area of Zar'it, and also responding after militants fired anti-tank missiles towards Israel's Kibbutz Manara and Rosh HaNikra near the border.
The army said it would "continue to strike terror targets belonging to the Hezbollah terrorist organization".
We were warned way in advance that this was coming.
Now the Great Middle East War is here.
The Iranians have hoisted a black flag above their largest mosque, and it appears that things are about to break loose in a major way.
Originally published at The Economic Collapse Blog - reposted with permission.
