>> Ahmadinejad Rules Out Nuclear Concessions, Urges Obama Debate

>> New Israeli poll finds Netanyahu and Likud gaining popularity — would gain 4 Knesset seats if elections were held today, while Ehud Barak’s Labor Party would lose one seat and Tzipi Livni’s Kadima party would lose 4 seats

—————————————–

“A senior Kremlin official confirmed Wednesday to the Russian paper Kommersant that Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu did make a clandestine trip to Russia on Monday,” reports the Jerusalem Post this morning. “The report in the Russian newspaper comes despite a statement Wednesday from the Kremlin press service that ‘nothing is known’ about reports of the visit. Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, also said he had no information, the Interfax news agency reported. Nevertheless, there was never any official denial of the report from Moscow. On Wednesday night, the Prime Minister’s Office appeared to stick to its original version of events: that Netanyahu was occupied with ‘secret and classified activities’ during his unexplained absence of more than 12 hours….What is almost as mysterious as whether the trip took place, is what might have been discussed, with speculation focused on Iran, possible Russian arms deals to Iran and Syria, or the disappearance of the Arctic Sea cargo ship – suspected of carrying Russian made S-300 anti-aircraft missiles bound for Iran – that went missing last month. The trip, if indeed it took place, would not have been the result of an impromptu, emergency decision, since there was already talk among Netanyahu’s inner circle during his visit to London and Berlin two weeks ago about a possible visit to Russia ahead of the United Nations General Assembly meeting at the end of the month. Interestingly, almost exactly two years ago, then-prime minister Ehud Olmert paid a lightning visit to Moscow to meet with then-Russian president Vladimir Putin, a day after the Russian leader returned from a trip to Teheran in which he warned outside powers not to attack Iran and said there was no evidence it was developing nuclear arms.”

The mystery surrounding the trip comes as ex-Mossad chief Danny Yatom tells the Israeli media that he now believes the only way to stop Iran from building nuclear weapons is through the use of military force. “Only military action can stop Iran from achieving nuclear weapons capabilities, former Mossad chief Danny Yatom told Army Radio late Wednesday night, though he added that he doubted the United States would approve such a step. Responding to an interviewer’s query, asking Yatom if he had reached the conclusion that only military action could stop Iran’s drive toward nuclear weapons, the ex-Mossad head said ‘yes, I have reached that conclusion.’  According to the former intelligence chief, the ‘world needs to understand — an Iranian bomb poses a risk to its safety.'”

Another sobering report in the Russian and Israeli media this morning: “Russian report: Netanyahu may be planning attack — PM’s rushed visit to Moscow under cloud of secrecy occupies Russian media. Kommersant paper quotes ‘informed Israeli’ source as saying ‘It can’t be ruled out that Israel may be ready to move on to decisive actions with regards to Iran, and Netanyahu decided to inform Kremlin of this'”

This morning, the Wall Street Journal has a must-read op-ed by former U.S. Ambassador to Germany Dan Coats and two foreign policy colleagues entitled, “Taking Iran Seriously: Tehran is on course for a nuclear weapon next year.”

In light of such developments, please continue to pray for the peace of Jerusalem, for wisdom for U.S. and Israel leaders, for the strengthening of the Church and the spread of the gospel in the epicenter — and in Russia — and for the Church in the West to be awakened to the threats and the opportunities.

* Details on the “National Town Hall Meeting on the Threat of Radical Islam and the Church’s Response” on September 11th from 7 to 9pm eastern (re-webcast at 10pm eastern)

* To purchase a copy of Inside The Revolution documentary film on DVD from Barnes & Noble (35% off)

* To sign up for Joel’s (free) email updates

HEADLINES TO TRACK:

• Russia Says Sanctions Against Iran Are Unlikely
• Netanyahu’s ‘secret visit to Moscow to stop Putin selling weapons to Iran’
• Kremlin official confirms PM’s trip
• France implores Moscow to cancel sale of missiles to Iran
• French army chief: Military strike on Iran not viable
• Washington Post: “Iran is not prepared to discuss halting its uranium enrichment program in response to Western demands”

INTERVIEW UPDATE:

• Thursday, 9am — CBN’s “700 Club”
• Thursday, 7:30pm — KKLA, Los Angeles, Frank Pastore Show
  
• Thurs, 8:15pm — KGMS, Phoenix, Scott Richards Live
• Thurs, 8:35pm — Lars Larson Show, nationally syndicated
• Friday, 12:30pm — WIND, Charlottesville, VA, “Schilling Show”
• Friday, 1:30pm — WAFG, Ft. Lauderdale, “Viewpoint”

Three big stories worth tracking this morning:

• A U.S. diplomat has made the strongest statement yet indicating Iran is dangerously close to build nuclear weapons.
• Iran today began suggesting its terms for nuclear negotiations with the West.
• And a mysterious but intriguing story that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may have made a secret trip to Moscow on Monday “to discuss the Kremlin’s arms deals with Iran and Syria, and the transfer of Russian military hardware to Hizbullah. Israel reportedly presented Russian officials with evidence that a great deal of Russian weaponry was making its way to Hizbullah, posing a serious threat to Israel.”

Just three days to go before we host “A National Town Hall Meeting on the Threat of Radical Islam and the Church’s Response.” Thanks for your prayers and the questions you’ve been sending in. Here’s a quick update on where we are at this point:

• 616 churches currently signed up to show the event to their congregations
• over 750 Christian radio stations will be airing the event live or tape delayed
• 5 Christian cable and satellite TV networks will be airing the event live or tape delayed
• the Inside The Revolution documentary film on DVD — released nationwide on Tuesday — hit #9 on the Barnes & Noble website by the end of its first day
• Please especially be praying for the families and friends of those who were killed on September 11, 2001, and those who have lost loved ones fighting against Radical Islam in Iraq, Afghanistan and around the world.
• Please also be praying for the peace of Jerusalem, and for wisdom for our President and the Prime Minister of Israel in dealing with the threat posed by Iran and other Radical jihadists.
• Thanks and God bless you.

FLASH: Iran’s Atomic Work Nears Bomb Capability, U.S. Says

Excerpts from the Bloomberg story: “Iran’s nuclear work is approaching a ‘dangerous and destabilizing’ point at which the Persian Gulf country could build a bomb, the U.S. envoy to the United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency said. ‘Iran is now either very near or in possession already of sufficient low-enriched uranium to produce one nuclear weapon, if the decision were made to further enrich it to weapons grade,’ Ambassador Glyn Davies said today in a statement prepared for the IAEA’s 35-member board of governors, which is meeting for a third day in Vienna. This ‘moves Iran closer to a dangerous and destabilizing possible breakout capacity,’ Davies added, in some of the strongest comments yet used by a U.S. official about the threat posed by Iran’s nuclear program. He repeated President Barack Obama’s overtures to Iran for direct negotiations and said the administration in Washington is committed to a negotiated resolution to the international dispute over Iran’s work….IAEA inspectors reported last month that Iran ‘has not suspended its enrichment-related activities or its work on heavy-water-related projects as required by the Security Council.’ The agency said it can’t exclude the possibility that there is a military purpose to Iran’s nuclear program. ‘Against the background of the evidence available it is inexcusable that Iran continues to refuse any degree of transparency or cooperation in clarifying these outstanding issues,’ France, Germany and the U.K. said in a joint statement today in Vienna.”

HEADLINES TO TRACK:

• Report: Israeli Prime Minister held secret talks in Russia
• Putin denies secret meeting with Netanyahu
• Iran present proposals as West ups nuclear pressure

The following are programs that I’m scheduled to be interviewed on this week regarding the 9/11 event and the new Inside The Revolution DVD. All times are eastern and subject to change. Please check back for updates.

Wednesday, September 9

• 11:00-11:15 am — WMBI—Chicago, “This is the Day with Nancy Turner
• 3:00pm — AP Radio (taped)
• 8:00-8:30 pm — KPDQ-Portland/KGNW-Seattle, “Georgene Rice Show”
• 8:35-8:50 pm — Lars Larson Show—nationally syndicated

Thursday, September 10

• 9:00am –- CBN’s “700 Club” (live)
• 10:15am — CBN NewsWatch interview (taped)
• 12:15pm — Speak at Regent Law School chapel
• 7:30-8:00 pm – KKLA – Los Angeles, Frank Pastore Show
• 8:15-8:30 pm – Tucson, Arizona, Scott Richards Show

Fri, September 11

• 12:35-1:00 –- WINA – Charlottesville, VA
• 1:30-2:00pm — WAFG – Ft. Lauderdale – Jerry Newcombe
• 7:00-9:00 pm — National Town Hall Meeting (www.insidetherevolution.org)

The 90 min. documentary is now on sale on DVD.

Do you have a burning question you would like us to answer during the “National Town Hall Meeting on the Threat of Radical Islam and the Church’s Response” on Friday, September 11th?

You can submit your question about the Radicals, the Reformers, the Revivalists or the work of The Joshua Fund by clicking here. There are two more days to get your questions in. We can’t guarantee yours will be selected for the two hour event (7-9pm eastern, and re-webcast at 10pm eastern). But I will do my best over the next few weeks to answer here on this weblog as many questions as I can of those that don’t get answered Friday night.

On Tuesday, the Inside The Revolution documentary film on DVD goes on sale nationwide through online bookstores (such as Barnes & Noble where it’s now 35% off) and in general market and Christian bookstores. I hope you’ll get a copy and watch it with family and friends. In a way the hardcover book cannot possibly achieve, this film truly takes you inside the cataclysmic battle that is underway for the hearts, minds and souls of the Muslim people. Shot on location in Iraq, Turkey, Morocco, Israel and Washington, D.C., my team and I take you “inside the room” during exclusive interviews we did with former CIA director Porter Goss, former Delta Force commander Gen. Jerry Boykin, senior Iraqi government officials, key Muslim politicians and strategists, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Muslim converts to Christianity, (including Tass Saada, a former Radical Islamic Palestinian terrorist and close aide of PLO chief Yasser Arafat), and Father Zakaria Botros, the world’s most influential and controversial Revivalist who is widely known as “Islam’s Public Enemy #1.”

The film reveals the repeated statements Iran’s leaders have made on the record threatening not simply to destroy Israel but to annihilate the United States, as well. The film also explains the End Times theology, or eschatology, held by Iran’s current leaders, and explores just how dangerous such theology is, particularly if the West takes no decisive action to stop Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons in the not-too-distant future.

The documentary is nearly 90 minutes long (30 minutes longer than the Epicenter DVD). It also comes with 90 minutes of special features, including extended interviews with key players in the Middle East; a segment I shot in Ninevah, Iraq; and a wonderful new video about how The Joshua Fund is actively blessing Israel and her neighbors in the name of Jesus by providing food, clothing, medical supplies and other relief aid.

Officially, the film releases on Friday, September 11th. But most of the DVDs have arrived at stores around the country so I wanted you to know you can begin buying it today.

As of Monday night, the 600th church has signed up to show the event in their sanctuary. To find out if a church near you is showing it, please check out the newly updated website, www.insidetherevolution.org.

THIS WEEK’S MEDIA SCHEDULE

The following are programs that I’m scheduled to be interviewed on this week regarding the 9/11 event and the new DVD. All times are eastern and subject to change. Please check back for updates.

Tuesday, September 8

• 8:00-9:00am – Reach FM – Fort Lauderdale, Florida
  
• 10:00-10:30am – WHO – Des Moines – Jan Mickelson
  
• 10:35-10:45am – KCBQ San Diego – Mark Larson
• 11:00-11:10am – USA Radio News – John Clemens
• 11:15-11:35am – WFIL – Philadelphia
• 11:40-11:55am – WCRF – Cleveland
• 12:00-12:30pm – Jay Sekulow Live
• 12:35-12:50pm – WLBF/WSTF/WDYF, Montgomery AL
• 1:00-1:30pm – WMUZ – Detroit – Bob Dutko Show
• 2:00-3:00pm – Talk2Action – Janet Folger
• 3:00-4:00pm – Janet Parshall’s America
• 5:00-6:00pm – WRDR – Old Bridge, NJ – Pastor Lloyd Pulley

Thursday, September 10

• 9:00am — CBN’s “700 Club”
  

Just six days to go to the “National Town Hall Meeting on the Threat of Radical Islam and the Church’s Response” on Friday, September 11th from 7pm to 9pm eastern. I’m glad to report that five Christian cable and satellite TV networks have signed on to broadcast the event.

• The Total Living Network (TLN) will carry the event live
• The Cornerstone Television Network will carry the event live
• The Son Broadcasting Network in New Mexico will carry the event live
• The National Religious Broadcasters (NRB) network will re-air the event at a date to be announced
  
• The Inspiration (INSP) network will also re-air the event at a date to be announced

HEADLINES TO TRACK:

• Erick Stackelbeck is CBN’s terrorism analyst. He was at our home for the dinner earlier this week with Ambassador Dore Gold, a long-time senior advisor to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Following the dinner, he did this interview with Amb. Gold on the Iranian nuclear threat.
• CBN report from Sept 2 on the latest in the Rifqa Bary case, including new information on the disturbing ties between the Muslim Brotherhood, a Radical Islamic jihadist group founded in Egypt, and the mosque in Columbus, Ohio where Rifqa’s parents attend.
• US attacks Israel over West Bank settlements
• Iran Won’t Bow to Deadline Demand for Nuclear Talks
• World powers tell Iran to answer fast on nuclear talks
• North Korea said Friday it is on the threshold of mastering a new way of building atomic bombs, pressuring the United States to agree to direct negotiations or see the communist regime become a greater nuclear risk.

>> To sign up for Joel’s (free) Flash Traffic email updates, please click here

One week from tonight, we’ll be hosting the “National Town Hall Meeting on the Threat of Radical Islam and the Church’s Response.” As of last night, 540 church congregations across North America have signed up to show a high-resolution webcast of the event.

There is still time for your congregation to sign up for free by going to www.insidetherevolution.org.

At the site, you can also find:

• a partial list of the churches showing the event to see if there is one near you that you can attend.
  
• a trailer of the Inside The Revolution documentary DVD which releases next week.
• a button on the right hand side of the home page that you can click to send a question that you’d like us to consider answering during the 9/11 event.
  
• an explanation of how you can watch the event on your home computer if you don’t have a church near you that is hosting the event.
• * an explanation of when the event will be rebroadcast later in the evening on 9/11 for churches and individuals in the Western time zones.
  
• * next week, Lord willing, we’ll have the list of TV and radio stations that will be broadcasting the event as well.

We look forward to having you join us next Friday night, and we would be grateful if you would be praying for us:

• for the Lord’s grace and protection for everyone involved
• for all the technical details to go smoothly
• for people’s hearts in North America and around the world to be moved by the Holy Spirit to “learn, pray, give and go” to His work in the epicenter
• for people specifically consider getting prayerfully and financially involved in the work of The Joshua Fund to bless Israel and her neighbors through TJF’s educational efforts and by TJF’s work to provide food, clothing, medical supplies and other relief and assistance to the poor and needy and victims of war and terrorism in the epicenter.

Thanks so much, and may the Lord bless you beyond what you can hope for, dream of, or imagine, according to Ephesians 3:20.

The following are excerpts from Part I of an interview I did with Smart Ministry, a resource for pastors and ministry leaders throughout the U.S. and Canada. To read the full story, please click here.

Q: Joel, I was able to see a screener copy of the DVD. Let me start by asking what you want to accomplish with the documentary?

A: From the perspective of a church leader, our objective with Inside the Revolution is to create a tool where pastors and other ministry leaders can generate a conversation within their ministries. Do we have a heart for reaching Muslims with the Gospel of Jesus Christ and do we have a plan? In terms of the film, it is a straight documentary. It’s not specifically a call to action per se as the book is. The last chapter of the book Inside the Revolution is specifically titled Come Join the Revolution, and addresses specific ways you can fight radicals, support reformers, and encourage revivalists.

The film doesn’t do that, but it’s clearly designed to educate Christians to the threat of radical Islam and to how powerfully God is moving in the Muslim world so they are aware of the fact that we are at a different stage in history than any other time in Christian/Islamic relations. We’re in a moment where the God of the Bible is moving so powerfully to draw Muslims into the kingdom of Jesus Christ that we ought to be engaged. We ought to part of that process. We always should have been, but the church wasn’t for many centuries.

….I have four objectives: learn, pray, give and go. The film doesn’t say that, but that’s my objective. To help people learn what God is doing in the Middle East and the Muslim world. Pray knowledgeably, faithfully, and consistently for peace, but also for Christ to move and draw more Muslims to himself. To give to ministries that are effectively advancing the Gospel and showing the love of Christ in compassionate ways here as well as in the Muslim world. And to give to ministries that are blessing Israel and standing with Israel. And then to go. Go on a prayer and vision trip—short term, or long term….

Q: On September 11 you’re putting on a free webcast for churches. How do you hope churches will respond to what they learn there?

A: In some ways the 9/11 event is the last chapter of the DVD. Meaning it’s our opportunity to show portions of the film so people understand what it is and why we’ve created it as a tool, but then to get into the very issues and have the very conversation that we hope everyone will begin to have as they watch the film. The 9/11 event allows churches to link right in to the conversation and participate in it…..The goal is to get people engaged in a conversation. And that’s why we’re calling it a national town hall. We want it to be a conversation. In two hours we won’t satisfy it, we’ll just begin it.

….We’re going to commemorate and honor those who fell on 9/11 eight years ago. In doing that, I think the question that the church needs to ask herself is, “Do we have a heart for reaching Muslims with the Gospel, and do we have a plan for doing it? Do we have a plan for blessing Israel in every possible way?”

…..I’m not entirely convinced that the church got mobilized by 9/11 to fulfill the great commission in the Middle East. And we ought to have been. And if we weren’t then, we need to be now.

….All the things that Jesus told us to do in the last days—in Matthew 25, for example—are things we need to do. Are we feeding the hungry? Are we giving water to the thirsty? Are we clothing the naked? Are we caring for the suffering? We need to do those things in our communities, but we need to do them particularly in the Middle East where Jesus said all these things. In Matthew 25 He said He is going to grade His followers on how well we’re doing that. To be clear, good works don’t get us into heaven, but we were saved to do good works. The question is, are we showing the love of Jesus Christ in real and practical and specific ways to Israel and to the Muslim world?

This morning CBN is running a story about a former Palestinian terrorist named Tass Saada who has renounced Radical Islam, renounced the PLO, become a follower of Jesus Christ and become a friend of Israel and the Jewish people. Saada’s testimony is as miraculous as it is dramatic. Saada was one of our featured speakers at the 2009 Epicenter Conference in April, which is where CBN reporter Erick Stackleback sat down with him to do the interview for today’s story. Saada is also featured in the forthcoming Inside The Revolution documentary film, releasing next week on DVD. Please be praying for Tass — for courage and boldness to continue his ministry sharing the good news of Christ’s unconditional love for the Palestinian people and all Muslims and Jesus’ desire to forgive Muslims and give them hope, peace and eternal salvation if they give their lives to Him.

Meanwhile, please pray for Rifqa Bary, the 17 year old Sri Lankan girl from Ohio who converted from Islam to Christianity four years ago but has now fled to Florida after her father discovered her conversion and allegedly threatened to kill her as part of what’s known in Radical Islam as an “honor killing.” A Florida court has given her temporary protection as the state investigates the girl’s fears and allegations. This appears to be the first time a U.S. court has dealt with the issue of a threatened honor killing, though apparent honor killings have occurred in the last year or so in Buffalo, Atlanta and Irving, Texas. (see links below)

• CBN News coverage of Rifqa Bary, who says her father hit her with her laptop computer and allegedly said, “If you have Jesus in your heart, you are dead to me. You are not my daughter. I will kill you.”
• ABC News coverage of Rifqa Bary
  
• Local TV coverage of Rifqa Bary, the 17 year old girl who says she converted from Islam to Christianity and now fears her father will kill her as an “honor killing”
• Jeff Jacoby column from 2008: “Honor killings come to the U.S.”
• Buffalo, February 2009: Beheading in [Buffalo] New York Appears to Be Honor Killing, Experts Say
• irving, Texas, January 2009: Two daughters  found executed in a taxi cab; First Time FBI Calls Case an ‘Honor Killing’ — U.N. report says 5,000 honor killings globally each year
  
• Atlanta, July 2008: Woman killed over divorce; ”I have done nothing wrong,’ said father charged with murder. Clayton case is not first such ‘honor killing.’
• Daniel Pipes article on honor killing, cites an article in Middle East Quarterly,” Beheading in the Name of Islam” by Timothy R. Furnish in the spring 2005 issue. ” Furnish establishes that ‘ritual beheading has a long precedent in Islamic theology and history.’ He begins with the Koranic verse 47:3: ‘When you encounter the unbelievers on the battlefield, strike off their heads until you have crushed them completely; then bind the prisoners tightly’ and notes how both premodern (Tabari, Zamakhshari) and modern (Yusuf Ali, Khatib, Mawdudi) commentators of the Koran interpret this verse literally. Furnish also notes a second Koranic verse, 8:12: ‘I will cast dread into the hearts of the unbelievers. Strike off their heads, then, and strike off all of their fingertips.‘“

Showing a gospel film called "Magdalena" in Bethlehem on July 13, 2009.

MEDIA ALERT: Joel to be on two radio shows on Wednesday:

• * Point of View on the USA Radio Network from 2pm to 3pm eastern
• * “Chris Fabry Live,” Moody Radio Network from 3pm to 4pm eastern

———————–

One of the ways to bless Israel is to share the love of Jesus Christ with her Arab and Palestinian neighbors and enemies that they might truly discover God’s mercy and forgiveness and have their hearts transformed from enmity to love.

Jesus — a Jewish carpenter living in Israel — taught His followers in Matthew 19 and Matthew 5 to “love your neighbors” and “love your enemies.” This summer, therefore, The Joshua Fund sought to obey the teachings of Jesus by helping finance the “Back To Jerusalem” conference and outreach, a project organized and run by Arab followers of Jesus Christ in Israel and the West Bank.

During the project, local Arab believers — teamed up with hundreds of followers of Christ from the U.S., South Africa and the Arab world — shared the love of Christ with an estimated 50,000 Arabs in Israel and the West Bank. To read more information about this project and other Joshua Fund efforts, please click here.

HEADLINES TO TRACK:

• Nuclear negotiator: Iran ready for talks with West
• Obama praises Islam at Ramadan meal; Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren in attendance
• Report: Iran offers to arm Lebanese army
• Report: 200,000 Israeli seek food aid ahead of holidays
• Was Russia’s ‘Hijacked’ Ship Carrying Missiles to the Mideast?
• UAE tells UN it seized ship carrying secret cache of North Korea arms intended for Iran
• NBC News 4: Fairfax County [VA] Approves “School for Terrorism”: Islamic Saudi Academy gets approval for mosque, school
• Time magazine: “The battle for Rifqa Bary, a 17-year-old girl from Columbus, Ohio, who ran away to an Evangelical church in Orlando, Fla., because, she claims, her Sri Lankan Muslim family has threatened to kill her for recently converting to Christianity.”
• Fox News: Muslim Teen Who Converted to Christianity Says Family Threatened to Kill Her

Iran, Gold argues, is engaged in "strategic deception."

UPDATE: Ahmadinejad Plans Visit to U.S. (Sept 23)

Last night, my wife and I and several members of our Joshua Fund team hosted a dinner party for Dr. Dore Gold and a small group of evangelical Christian and Catholic leaders and journalists at our home. A long-time friend and senior advisor to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Gold is the author of several New York Times best-selling books about the Middle East. His latest is a must-read expose of the apocalyptic ayatollahs entitled, The Rise of Nuclear Iran: How Tehran Defies The West.

The evening’s chilling headline: Gold noted that a careful reading of the new IAEA report indicates that Iran now appears to have enough uranium to produce at least two nuclear bombs.

On page 2 of the report, the IAEA indicates that 669 kgs of low-grade uranium have been produced by Iran since November 18th, 2008. A footnote on that page further indicates that 839 kgs of similar LEU (low enriched uranium) had been produced by Iran prior to November 2008. That means Iran now has at least 1,508 kgs of low-grade uranium.

Gold noted that to produce 20 kgs of HEU (highly-enriched uranium, military-grade uranium) to build a nuclear bomb, one needs roughly 700 kgs of LEU that can then be reinserted into high-tech centrifuges and re-processed to roughly 95% purity. Thus, Iran now appears to have the essential materials to move steadily towards building two atomic bombs as soon as it makes the political decision to do so. It is not known whether Tehran has already made such a decision. Moreover, it is not publicly known whether Tehran possesses more enriched uranium than the IAEA is aware of and/or reporting.

Based simply on what we currently know, the situation is “very serious,” said Gold, who served as Israel’s ambassador to the U.N. from 1997 to 1999 and today is president of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, Israel’s foremost national security think thank. If Iran acquires nuclear weapons, the Radical Islamic ayatollahs and mullahs in Tehran could create a “nuclear umbrella” for global Islamic terrorism, he said. Iran could blackmail regional enemies, and could ultimately use such weapons against Israel, the U.S. or other Western powers.

Gold noted that the Radical Shia Islamic eschatology of the current regime has to be taken into account.  “[Iranian President Mahmoud] Ahmadinejad believes the end of the world can be accelerated by men.”

UPDATE, 9/1, 6:45pm — Outgoing IAEA chief ElBaradei calls Iranian threat ‘hyped’

Other highlights from last night’s discussion:

• Gold said he is deeply skeptical of the West’s efforts to engage Iran diplomatically, arguing that the evidence clearly indicates Tehran has used previous negotiations to buy time to aggressively advance the country’s nuclear program.
  
• He noted that Hassan Rowhani, who served as Iran’s chief nuclear negotiator from 2003 to 2005, once bragged to hardliners in a closed-door speech in Tehran: “When we were negotiating with the Europeans in Tehran, we were installing equipment in parts of the facility in Isfahan.” The speech was reported in the New York Times in 2006. It is the opening anecdote Gold uses in his fascinating new book as he documents how Iranian leaders are engaged in a systematic campaign of “strategic deception” with the West to hide the enormity of its efforts to acquire nuclear weapons.
  
• Gold warned that time to stop Iran is fast running out. “What is Plan B with the West if diplomacy fails?” he asked. He fears leaders in Washington and Europe will say, “So what if Iran gets nuclear weapons? We can deter them like we deterred the Soviets.” But he said pointedly: “I think this [Iran getting the Bomb] would be a disaster for Israel, for the world.”
• Compounding his concerns: “Everyone in the West is complacent,” he said. The American media — even Fox News — couldn’t seem to care less about the steadily growing Iranian nuclear threat and are consumed with coverage of health care, domestic politics, the Kennedy funeral, Michael Jackson, and so on.
• Western leaders have given Iran until the G20 Summit in Pittsburgh September 24-25 to accept terms for intensive negotiations on the nuclear issue. If Iran accepts a negotiation track, Gold is concerned that they will do only to stall until their first few atomic weapons are completed. If Iran doesn’t accept, he is concerned the G20 might issue a new deadline. “A new deadline would be an utter disaster,” he said.
• Gold, who could be tapped in the future to serve in the Netanyahu government, declined to speculate on Israeli military options.
• He did say Israelis feel very much alone in the current conflict, and he expressed his deep personal gratitude to the evangelical Christian and pro-Israel Catholic community for their love and support of the Jewish people and the Jewish state.

As the evening closed, I gave Amb. Gold, whom I have known since I worked for Netanyahu in 2000, an advance copy of the new Inside The Revolution documentary film on DVD. The film will be released nationwide on September 11th, and will be highlighted in the “National Town Hall Meeting on the Threat of Radical Islam and the Church’s Response” we are hosting on 9/11. An interview with Amb. Gold appears in the film, along with exclusive interviews with Prime Minister Netanyahu and other U.S. and Middle Eastern political, military and religious leaders. Nearly 500 churches are now signed up to show a high-resolution webcast of the 9/11 town hall meeting. It’s not too late to sign up. Please click here for more information.

A partial list of those joining us at the dinner party last night:

• Hon. Rick Santorum, fmr. U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania
• Hon. Steve Largent, fmr. U.S. Congressman from Oklahoma
• Janet Parshall, nationally syndicated radio host
• Craig Parshall, National Religious Broadcasters association
• John Miller, National Review
• Emily Belz, World magazine
• David Aikman, author and fmr. Time magazine correspondent
• Erick Stackleback, CBN
• Mark Rodgers, Ethics & Public Policy Center
• Joshua Fund staff and board members
  

* Tuesday, September 1st, is the last day to register for The Joshua Fund’s “Prayer & Vision Trip” to Israel November 5-17. To learn more details — including a toll-free number to ask questions — please click here.

* Friday, September 11th, is the “National Town Hall Meeting on Radical Islam and the Church’s Response.” To learn more — or to register your congregation to show a high-resolution webcast — please click  here.