Saudi Arabia and Iranian Rift Deepens

“Almost 1,400 years have passed since the first battles broke out within the Muslim world between the inheritors of the Prophet Muhammad, which led to the schism between Shiites and Sunnis, and it seems little has changed” between the two sects of Islam (The Times of Israel, January 4, 2016). The recent killing of an Iranian Shiite cleric by Sunni-dominated Saudi Arabia and the retaliation from Iran against Saudi Arabian embassy missions have fanned the flames of conflict (Reuters, January 4, 2016). When the Saudis cut off relations with Iran, they were joined by other members of the Gulf Cooperation Council in condemning Iran—promising “to halt Tehran’s ‘terrorist acts’ and to ensure that it refrains from ‘meddling in the affairs of Arab nations’” (Arab News, January 10, 2016). This event has also promoted better relations between Saudi Arabia and Egypt—whose foreign minister denounced the attacks on Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran (Al Arabiya, January 5, 2016). Pakistan is seeking to “play peacemaker between Saudi Arabia and Iran” because it “fears that escalating tensions between the oil-rich nations would cause further instability on its soil” (Bloomberg, January 6, 2014).

What’s ahead for this conflicted region? Bible prophecies foretell the emergence of an end-time Middle Eastern power (the king of the South) that will push against a European superpower but will be defeated (Daniel 11:40-43). However “news from the East and north” will trouble this European power when a large army marches across the Euphrates to battle against this European “beast” (Daniel 11:44; Revelation 9:12-16; 16:12). To learn more about these prophetic end-time events, read our booklet, “The Middle East in Prophecy.”