This article was originally published by Michael Snyder at The Economic Collapse Blog. 

The crisis in the Middle East has taken another very ominous turn.  Iran is threatening to get directly involved in the conflict, and that should deeply alarm all of us.  For a long time, I have been specifically warning my readers that an apocalyptic conflict between Israel and Iran would be coming.  Sadly, now we are literally on the verge of seeing that happen.  Both nations possess weapons of immense destructive power, and there is going to be so much death and destruction in the days ahead.

On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared to signal that a massive military offensive in Gaza is imminent…

Benjamin Netanyahu has today vowed to ‘demolish’ Hamas with Israeli troops on the Gaza border poised to attack at any moment.

Israel’s armed forces is ‘ready’ to defeat the ‘bloodthirsty monsters’, the Israeli Prime Minister said, with a land, sea, and air offensive imminent.

Israeli tanks and troops have gathered on the border and are carrying out simulations ready to spring an invasion of Gaza at any time after Hamas terrorists killed 1,300 Israelis in a surprise attack last Saturday.

But if Israel goes in, Hezbollah has already indicated that they will almost certainly enter the conflict.

Of course, Hezbollah would only do that if they were directed to do so by Iran, and according to Axios Iran is now warning “that it will have to intervene if the Israeli operation in Gaza continues”…

Iran sent a message to Israel on Saturday stressing that it does not want further escalation in the Hamas-Israel war, but that it will have to intervene if the Israeli operation in Gaza continues, two diplomatic sources with knowledge of the situation told Axios.

Wow.

So is this really it?

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian has publicly stated that his nation “has its red lines”, and that “Iran will have to respond” if Israel conducts a major offensive in Gaza…

But Amir-Abdollahian stressed that Iran has its red lines. He said that if the Israeli military operation continues — and especially if Israel follows through on its promise of a ground offensive in Gaza — Iran will have to respond, according to the sources.

In addition, Amir-Abdollahian is also threatening America with “heavy losses” if the U.S. military decides to intervene…

He accused the United States of coming forward “to preserve the statue and puppet of Israel”.

“If the scope of the war expands, heavy losses will befall America as well.”

I could be wrong, but I don’t expect Iran to get directly involved in the conflict right away.

But I do believe that Hezbollah will jump into the war fairly soon after Israeli forces enter Gaza, and Syria could also be pulled in quite rapidly as well.

This would especially be true if the IDF keeps bombing Syria’s largest airports…

On Saturday, Israel allegedly launched an air strike against Syria’s Aleppo Airport. The Syrian government confirmed the attack and said, “The Israeli enemy carried out an air attack from the direction of the Mediterranean Sea, targeting Aleppo International Airport, which led to material damage to the airport and it being out of service.”

The reason why the Israelis are bombing airports in Syria is because that is one of the primary ways that Iran gets weapons to Hezbollah…

Referring to this development, Joel Rayburn, Director of the American Centre for Levant Studies, wrote, “Repeated Israeli strikes to disable Damascus and Aleppo airports are, to my mind, a strong indication that 1) the Iranian regime is trying to move strategic weapons to or via Syria to open a northern front and 2) the Israelis are determined to preempt that.”

The Israeli official re-shared this post, stating that Iranians are engaged in arms transfers.

Syria’s Damascus and Aleppo airports are known as transit points for Iranian arms sent to Hezbollah, a powerful Islamist militant group in both Syria and Lebanon.

We are so close to a major regional war.

The U.S. and other Western powers are trying to keep Iran and Hezbollah out of the conflict, but it just isn’t working.

On Sunday, there was more fighting along Israel’s northern border yet again…

A Hezbollah spokeswoman, Rana Sahili, says today’s increase in the intensity of the exchanges between Israel and the Lebanese terror group doesn’t indicate Hezbollah has decided to fully enter into the Hamas-Israel war.

The fighting on the border is “only skirmishes” and represents a “warning,” she says.

Hezbollah is not ready to formally go to war just yet.

But once the Israelis make their move in Gaza, expect Hezbollah to pull the trigger.

And once that happens, the Biden administration will have a decision to make.

If Hezbollah starts firing thousands of missiles into Israel, I think that the Biden administration will order strikes against Hezbollah.

The two aircraft carriers that have been ordered into the eastern Mediterranean Sea have been sent there to deter Hezbollah and Iran, but they will take action if it becomes necessary…

The Pentagon has ordered a second carrier strike group to the eastern Mediterranean Sea and is sending Air Force fighter jets to the region as Israel prepares to expand its Gaza operations, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said in a statement Saturday.

The US warships are not intended to join the fighting in Gaza or take part in Israel’s operations, but the presence of two of the Navy’s most powerful vessels is designed to send a message of deterrence to Iran and Iranian proxies in the region, such as Hezbollah in Lebanon.

The movements are “part of our effort to deter hostile actions against Israel or any efforts toward widening this war following Hamas’s attack on Israel,” Austin said in the statement.

As I have discussed previously, I hope that those carriers are being kept at a safe distance, because Hezbollah does have missiles that are capable of sinking an aircraft carrier.

As this conflict evolves, we are going to see images on our television screens that are going to absolutely shock all of us.

So many people are going to die, and our world will be permanently changed by the horrors that we will soon witness.

Michael’s new book entitled “End Times” is now available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can check out his new Substack newsletter right here.

About the Author: My name is Michael and my brand new book entitled “End Times” is now available on Amazon.com.  In addition to the new book I have written six other books that are available on Amazon.com including “7 Year Apocalypse”, “Lost Prophecies Of The Future Of America”, “The Beginning Of The End”, and “Living A Life That Really Matters”. (#CommissionsEarned)  When you purchase any of these books you help to support the work that I am doing, and one way that you can really help is by sending copies as gifts to family and friends.  Time is short, and I need help getting these warnings into the hands of as many people as possible.  I have also started a brand new Substack newsletter, and I encourage you to subscribe so that you won’t miss any of my articles.  I have published thousands of articles on The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream, and The Most Important News, and the articles that I publish on those sites are republished on dozens of other prominent websites all over the globe.  I always freely and happily allow others to republish my articles on their own websites, but I also ask that they include this “About the Author” section with each article.  The material contained in this article is for general information purposes only, and readers should consult licensed professionals before making any legal, business, financial, or health decisions.  I encourage you to follow me on social media on Facebook and Twitter, and anyway that you can share these articles with others is definitely a great help.  These are such troubled times, and people need hope.  John 3:16 tells us about the hope that God has given us through Jesus Christ: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”  If you have not already done so, I strongly urge you to invite Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior today.