In case you were wondering why Iran was dangerous and something must be done about the danger it poses, here’s a very good explanation:
Why would Iran authorize a major terrorist operation on American soil? Skeptics say the muchdiscussed “foiled” Iranian plot makes no sense.But Iranian leaders may, in fact, have a motive to accelerate direct attacks on the U.S.: Shia Islamic eschatology, or “End Times” theology.
Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad are convinced that the End of Days has come. They believe the Shia messiah known as the “Twelfth Imam” or the “Mahdi” will appear soon to establish a global Islamic kingdom known as the caliphate.
What’s more, they believe the way to hasten the coming of the Twelfth Imam is to annihilate Israel (which they call the “Little Satan”), and the United States (which they call the “Great Satan”).
Khamenei told Iranians in July 2010 that he personally met with the Twelfth Imam. He also claimed to be the personal representative of the Mahdi on Earth, and said all Muslims must “obey him.” Meanwhile, Western intelligence agencies say he continues to work with Ahmadinejad and the Iranian military to develop nuclear warheads and the ballistic missiles to deliver them.
Iran’s leaders actually believe that the destruction of the U.S. is foreordained. They see U.S. economic weakness as a sign that the end of America is near. … To truly understand just how dangerous Iran’s regime really is, American leaders need to better understand Shia eschatology. … Shias believe the Mahdi will return in the last days to establish righteousness, justice and peace. When he comes, they say, the Mahdi will bring Jesus with him. Jesus will be a Muslim and will serve as his deputy and he will force non-Muslims to choose between following the Mahdi or death.
Some believe [the Mahdi] will emerge from the well at the Jamkaran Mosque in Iran and then travel to Mecca and Iraq. Some say that he will conquer Jerusalem before establishing his caliphate in Iraq. Others believe Jerusalem must be conquered as a prerequisite to his return. He is expected to conquer the Arabian Peninsula, Jordan, Syria, “Palestine,” Egypt and North Africa, and eventually the entire world. During this time, he and Jesus will kill between 60 and 80 percent of the world’s population, specifically those who refuse to convert to Islam.
In light of such End Times theology, we shouldn’t be surprised that the Iranian regime is taking a more aggressive posture towards the U.S. and Israel. It’s a natural step, most agree, for the only two Shiite Muslim-led governments in the Sunni-dominated Mideast to expand their relationship. But it’s a fine line for Iraq to walk, with even many in Iraq’s Shiite majority wary of infringement of their country’s sovereignty and afraid of being overrun by the Iranian theocracy.
From politics and weapons to pilgrims and consumer products, Iraqis have for years stood by as Iranian influence seeped in. It’s been galling for many still bitter over the destruction that Iran heaped on their homes during the eight-year war in the 1980s that left a half-million
people dead.Top Iranian officials maintain they are only strengthening diplomatic and economic ties with Iraq, as they have sought to do since the 2003 ouster of Saddam Hussein. American officials, however, have long feared what they describe as Iranian meddling in Iraq—and its potential to sow unrest across the Mideast. Those worries were a chief driver of failed efforts to leave at least several thousand American troops in Iraq beyond the December 31 withdrawal deadline. At least three Shiite militias backed by Iran ramped up attacks on U.S. troops in Iraq this year in a warning not to stay beyond the deadline. U.S. and Iraqi intelligence officials said Iran supplied the militiamen with weapons, training and millions of dollars in funding. Those militias’ strength will no doubt give them influence in Iraq after the withdrawal.
During a trip last week to Baghdad, Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi described the neighborly relationship as “two branches belonging to one tree” and dismissed U.S. accusations of interference.
Source: The Trumpet Weekly (PDF File)
Global Geopolitics 