More Evidence That Iran’s “New” Leadership Is the Old Leadership
 
A top Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps general has now come out of hiding to take part in mourning the death of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
 
Ahmed Vahidi—who hasn’t been seen since before the US-Israel war against Iran—was seen yesterday at the site of Khamenei’s casket.
 
Vahidi, who joined the IRGC in 1979, has a long history as an architect of terror closely connected to Khamenei. He worked alongside the infamous Qasem Soleimani (who was assassinated by the US on January 3, 2020) to establish Iran’s terrorist proxies in other parts of the world, especially Hezbollah in Lebanon. The fact Hezbollah is the largest and most powerful terrorist puppet of Iran is due to Vahidi and Soleimani.
 
Vahidi is a chief member of the old guard who still possesses the highest levels of influence and authority over what happens in Iran.
 
He is said to be among an elite few who have access to Iran’s current supreme leader, Mjotaba Khamenei.

More Opposition to Trump’s Possible Sale of F-35s to Turkey
 
Israel, Greece, and Cyprus are all strongly opposed to Trump selling F-35 fighter jets to Turkey.
 
Among the reasons for this concern is Turkish President Erdogan’s recent statement that “Israel’s ‘aggression’ poses ‘a ‌threat to the whole world and must be stopped.’” Erdogan is an especially harsh critic of Israel—and a strong supporter of Hamas and Iran—and would very likely use the F-35s against the Jewish nation.
 
Greece and Israel are also alarmed because last week, when Trump was asked about his plans for the July 7-8 NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, he said, “I’m going to probably do something that will make them [Turkey] very happy.”
 

Words of Encouragement—July 4 Edition

“Some apparently believe that America enjoys God’s blessing by divine right. After all, God has blessed America throughout history to a remarkable degree. But His blessings are not measured—as most people believe—by material affluence, power, and world dominance. The greatest blessings God has graciously given America have been spiritual blessings—freedom for the gospel to be propagated, sweeping revivals like those of the Great Awakenings, and growth and spiritual prosperity for the church in our nation.”
 
John MacArthur, “Can God Bless America?,” Tabletalk, Ligonier Ministries, September 1, 2011

Scripture: Our Sure Foundation and Hope
 
On July 4, we often hear the phrase “God bless America,” especially in the famous song by that title, which was written by composer Irving Berlin.
 
But that raises a good question: Who, really, does God bless?
 
Psalm 112 gives us this very clear and helpful answer:
 
“Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who greatly delights in his commandments! His offspring will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed. Wealth and riches are in his house, and his righteousness endures forever. Light dawns in the darkness for the upright; he is gracious, merciful, and righteous. It is well with the man who deals generously and lends; who conducts his affairs with justice. For the righteous will never be moved; he will be remembered forever. He is not afraid of bad news; his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord. His heart is steady; he will not be afraid, until he looks in triumph on his adversaries. He has distributed freely; he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever” (verses 1-9).
 
So who does God bless? The one who greatly delights in His commandments, who is righteous, and whose heart is firm and trusts the Lord.
 
This is the person who will experience the blessings that only God can provide—the kind that aren’t temporary because they’ll fade in time, but are permanent because they are eternal in nature.
 

Middle East Update—Key News for July 6, 2026
 
I am currently in the final month of working on a book project with a fast-approaching deadline.
 
For this reason, I need all the time I can get. Which means for the next month, For the most part, I’m going to keep my Telegram posts very brief. I’m simply going to list what’s happening in the news, without offering commentary.
 
I apologize for this, but hope those of you who follow Foreshadows Report on Telegram will understand.

Along the way, I’ll also give updates on the book project, and once the manuscript is done (possibly first week of August), I’ll reveal information about the book itself.
 
Here is today’s rundown, in brief form:
 
While in China, Iranian ambassador Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli announced to the World Peace Forum that Iran “will definitely charge service fees” for ships to use the Strait of Hormuz. He insisted this will not be a toll, but a fee “guaranteeing the security of passage through the Straits of Hormuz.”
 
On July 4 in Iran, during speeches given at Khamenei’s funeral services, crowds repeatedly chanted “Death to America! Death to Israel!”
 
In what appears to be a violation of the Memorandum of Understanding between the US and Iran, satellite images reveal that Iranian workers are reinforcing the tunnel entrances at the Natanz nuclear facility. Because International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors have never been granted permission to inspect this site, its purpose is still unknown.
 
The former Israeli ambassador to the US Danny Ayalon has criticized the US’s Memorandum of Understanding with Iran, saying that it amounts to a “massive surrender” to Iran.

Trump in Turkey for What Could Be a Controversial NATO Summit
 
Today and tomorrow, Trump will participate in meetings with other NATO leaders in Ankara, Turkey. Turkish President Erdogan is hosting the summit.
 
Upon arriving, Trump met briefly with Erdogan. The two leaders then participated in a press conference in which Trump strongly criticized other NATO members for not stepping up sufficiently to pay their share of defense spending for the alliance, and for their lack of support in helping to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
 
Among the top issues on the summit agenda are Ukraine, Iran, and defense spending. 
 
In addition, Trump has said he is still pondering the sale of F-35 stealth fighter jets to Turkey—a move that some US Congress members, Greece, Cyprus, and Israel are all opposed to.
 
There are a few things to keep in mind as the summit takes place:
 
It’s odd that Turkey is a member of NATO because of its close relations with Russia and the fact Erdogan is a dictator.
 
Economically, Turkey has struggled for years with a high cost of living, excessive inflation, and a weak currency. Erdogan will be eager for opportunities to make deals that are beneficial to the country. And Trump is one to make deals.
 
Erdogan is also strongly pro-Hamas, meaning he is pro-terrorist, and is fiercely anti-Israel.
 
Erdogan is not one to be trusted. Yet because Trump and Erdogan get along well, Trump is sure to want to please Erdogan during this visit.
 
Because Trump has been upset with his NATO allies, he had originally planned to boycott the summit. But he changed his mind, admitting back on June 24, "I'm going because of Erdogan.”

Christ’s Message to Pergamum: Make the Right Choices
 
Our study of Jesus’ letters to the seven churches in Revelation 2-3 continues with a new episode today, which is titled “Christ’s Message to Pergamum: Make the Right Choices.”
 
Here’s a link to the podcast—thank you for listening, and consider sharing this with others!
 
https://stevemillerresources.com/podcast/

Iran Attacks Civilian Cargo Ships; US Forces Respond
 
From Monday through Tuesday, Iran targeted and struck at least three commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz. Trump responded by saying, “As far as I’m concerned, [the ceasefire is] over,” and that attempts to make a deal are “a waste of time.” US CENTCOM announced that 80 strikes were made against Iranian air defense systems, missile sites, drone launch sites, and port facilities along the strait.

US Resumes Sanctions on Iranian Oil
 
In addition to hitting targets in Iran, the US has revoked Iran’s permission to sell crude oil. This will affect ships currently carrying oil to other ports, which are transporting an estimated 63 million barrels of oil.

Secretary General of NATO Agrees with US Strikes
 
Trump is currently in Turkey for a NATO summit. At the meeting, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said the US strikes against Iran were “absolutely necessary.” He added, “When you have a ceasefire and Iran is basically violating the ceasefire, I think it is totally crucial that the US forcefully react.”

Netanyahu’s Warning to Trump About F-35 Sale to Turkey
 
On Monday, in a news interview, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu exhorted Trump to not follow through on a sale of F-35 stealth fighter jets to Turkey. He said, “For a regime infected by the Muslim Brotherhood, an extreme movement that hates America and chants ‘Death to America,’ from that side of the spectrum, I don’t think they should be given F-35s or the engines for their fighter jets.” He said for Trump to do that could “upset the power balance in the Middle East.”
 
Netanyahu added that Turkey “is governed by a man who calls openly for the annihilation of Israel. He’s threatened Greece, another NATO country, and he talks openly about conquering Jerusalem.”
 

Iran Threatens Trump
 
During this week, multiple large banners declaring “We will kill Trump” have been seen posted or carried by mourners observing the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei.
 
Such threats aren’t new; Iranian leaders have repeatedly called for his killing for years, going back to 2020, when Trump ordered the assassination of one of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ top generals, Qassem Soleimani. Afterward, Iran vowed “severe revenge.”
 
Yesterday, as Trump neared the end of his time at the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, he told reporters, “They [Iran] had leaders, they’re gone, and they had another set of leaders, they’re gone. Now they have another set of leaders, they may be gone. Who knows? And you know what, I may be gone too, because I’m their number one target.”

Second Night of US Strikes; Iran Retaliates
 
In relation to the latest round of US strikes against Iran, US Central Command announced, “The United States is holding Iran accountable for recent unjustified aggression against commercial shipping and civilian crews freely navigating a vital international waterway.”
 
An estimated 90 military targets were struck along Iran’s coastline, including 60-plus Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps small boats and two railway bridges used to transport Iranian military weapons. CENTCOM said the primary purpose of the operation was to diminish Iran’s ability to attack ships.
 
Iran condemned the US actions and warned of “grave consequences.” The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps accused the US of “adventurism and interference,” saying that “the Strait of Hormuz will be reopened only under Iranian arrangements, not through US threats.”
 
Iran said it would retaliate by targeting US military installations in the region. Earlier today, Kuwait reported the interception of one cruise missile, three ballistic missiles, and ten drones. Jordan said it intercepted eight missiles fired from Iran.

The Rise of Turkey
 
In today’s Jerusalem Post is a headline and a lead-in that doesn’t surprise me:
 
Headline: As Iran fades, Turkey emerges as Israel’s biggest strategic threat
 
Lead-in: Netanyahu’s campaign against selling F-35s to Ankara reflects a growing conviction in Jerusalem that Turkey is shaping up to be Israel’s principal long-term challenge.
 
From the article: “If Iran’s decline is creating a regional vacuum, Israel fears Turkey is positioning itself to fill it, and that American F-35s, coupled with Trump’s embrace of Erdogan, might help it do so.”
 
Part of Netanyahu’s effort to discourage the sale of the F-35 jets was comprised of a recent interview on Fox News, in which he said, “Turkey is a great country, but it is governed by a man who openly calls for the annihilation of Israel.”
 
To this I’ll add one more point:
 
In my book Foreshadows, I said Iran doesn’t need nuclear weapons to pose an existential threat to Israel. Iran’s production of missiles alone—countless tens of thousands of them, which are transported to Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon—is just as deadly a threat.
 
Likewise, Turkey doesn’t need F-35s to be a grave danger to Israel. It already has a massive military with technologically advanced weapons. Turkey was instrumental in the downfall of Al-Assad’s regime in Syria and propping up Syria’s new dictator, Ahmed al-Sharaa.
 
And right now, Turkey is militarily involved in a civil war in Libya, trying to control the outcome in Turkey’s favor.
 
For years, President Erdogan of Turkey, a power-hungry despot, has already been on the warpath to reshape the Middle East.
 
And we can expect to see more in the days to come.

Words of Encouragement
 
“Prophecies about the future are only as reliable as the wisdom, knowledge, and insight of their sources. When the source of information is our limited human perspectives on the past and present, the most intelligent ‘expert’ can only offer an educated guess. On the other hand, if the source is the all-knowing sovereign God, we can be certain that what He speaks will surely come to pass.”
 
Charles R. Swindoll, Swindoll’s Living Insights New Testament Commentary: Revelation, page 20

Scripture: Our Sure Foundation and Hope
 
Everything that is wrong in our world today had its beginning in one lie.
 
God had clearly commanded the first couple to not eat the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, or they would die. But Satan caused Eve to doubt God’s words. The devil told her, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:4-5).
 
Because of that one lie, all of humanity became separated from God and all the earth came under a curse. The enormity of the damage caused by that one lie is mind-boggling.
 
Satan is a peddler of lies—Jesus called him “the father of lies” (John 8:44). It is through lies that he continues to deceive. And he is skillful at using lies to drive a wedge between believers and God.
 
 When we find ourselves doubting God, we need to ask ourselves: Is it because we’ve inadvertently believed a lie that has somehow snuck its way into our thinking? Are we doubting God’s care? His love? His provision? His enabling us to persevere through difficult times?
 
Truth is our greatest defense against lies. It’s why the apostle Paul urged us, in Philippians 4:8, “Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.”
 
Whatever is true, think upon it.
 
The Bible is full of assurances of God’s care, love, provision, protection, and more. These promises—every one of them true—are meant to remind us, sustain us, encourage us.
 
When doubt whispers a thought into your mind, run to God’s promises. Seek those that are relevant to your situation. All that God says is absolutely true and absolutely can be trusted.
 
Because every word God speaks is true, we can count on Him always being faithful to us. As Hebrews 10:23 says, “Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.”

The Battle for the Strait of Hormuz
 
Since last Tuesday, the US has carried out four waves of massive strikes against Iranian military assets primarily in the area of the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran had continued to fire upon commercial vessels that supposedly were not following Iran’s instructions for proper use of the Strait, and the US is now taking serious action to ensure the Strait remains open to all international maritime traffic.
 
Iran’s attacks on cargo ships was a flagrant violation of the Memorandum of Understanding signed with the US, and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps desperately wants control of the Strait so it can continue to assert power over the region as well as for income purposes.
 
Trump has ordered US Central Command to ensure the strait remains open and has warned that the US is “taking over” the waterway and will become “the guardian of the Strait.”
 
Trump also announced, “We are reinstating THE IRANIAN BLOCKADE, so named because it is only stopping Iran’s ships or customers from entering or leaving. All other countries will have fair and open use of the Strait.”

Tributes to a True Ally of Ukraine and Israel
 
Last Saturday evening, after a trip to Ukraine, Senator Lindsay Graham (R-SC) died in his Washington, DC residence after suffering from an aortic dissection caused by arteriosclerotic cardiovascular heart disease.
 
Numerous tributes have since been given by world leaders, with a special emphasis on the fact Graham was a strong ally of both Ukraine and Israel. Here’s a sampling:
 
Foreign Minister Margus Tashkna of Estonia: “Estonia will remember him as a steadfast friend, a strong supporter of NATO's eastern flank, and an unwavering advocate for Ukraine.”
 
NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte: “[Graham] believed strongly in the NATO alliance and was actively working to bring an end to Russia’s war against Ukraine.”
 
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine, who had just met with Graham a few days ago: “Lindsay was a true defender of freedom and the values that make our world safer,” and “was here with our people when it was most needed.”
 
The former Israeli ambassador to the US Michael Oren: “When you lose someone like Lindsay Graham, it’s a diplomatic and strategic loss for the state of Israel.”
 
Current US ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee: “He loved Israel. He loved the fact that the U.S. and Israeli partnership had so much value for both countries, and that we had so much in common in terms of our values…I can assure you, there is deep mourning going on throughout the state of Israel tonight.”
 
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: “[Graham was] a cherished friend of mine…Israel has lost one of its greatest friends. America has lost a great patriot. I have lost a beloved friend.”
 
A few months ago, in an interview with The Jerusalem Post, Graham said, “I’ll stand with Israel until the day I die. It is our greatest ally.”

United Kingdom designates IRGC a terrorist organization

Yesterday, the UK parliament concluded that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps poses a threat to national security. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said a contributing factor to the ruling is that over the past year, the IRGC “backed more than 20 potentially lethal attacks on U.K. soil.”

Predictably, Iran rejected the UK decision, saying it was “unjustified” and “irresponsible.”

New wave of strikes against Iran

Earlier this morning, US CENTCOM completed yet another large-scale wave of attacks against military targets against Iran, with an emphasis on protecting the Strait of Hormuz. Central Command reported that “during the five-hour mission, US forces successfully struck military targets across Iran, including Bushehr, Chah Bahar, Jask, Konarak, Abu Musa, and Bandar Abbas to further degrade Iran’s ability to attack commercial shipping.”

44% of Muslims in America Have Favorable View of Hamas
 
The results of a new Pew Research Center survey show that in the USA, 44 percent of Muslims have a favorable view of the terrorist group Hamas. And 50 percent support the Palestinian Authority, another terrorist organization. That’s a substantial number.
 
Another Pew poll earlier this year showed that a growing number of Americans, in general, have a “very or somewhat unfavorable view of Israel,” which now stands at 60 percent. According to Pew, that number has gone up “nearly 20 points since 2022.”
 
In contrast, according to Pew, “Jewish Americans and White evangelical Protestants have mostly positive views of Israel, at 64% and 65% respectively.”