Tensions in the epicenter are spiking with news that Russia next week will help Iran’s first nuclear power facility go “hot” as early as next week. Analysts had originally been expecting this to happen in August. Then the Russians said it would be delayed until September. The Israeli government has not commented yet. But the big question is whether Prime Minister Netanyahu sees this as a “red line” that if crossed would trigger an Israeli military strike. Please step up your prayers for the peace of Jerusalem. Please also pray for The Joshua Fund team as we meet for next week for prayer, strategic planning and budgeting. We see the need to accelerate our efforts to prepare for a coming war, but need the Lord’s wisdom to know precisely how to proceed. Thanks.
“Russia’s nuclear agency said Friday that it will load fuel into Iran’s first nuclear power plant next week, defying U.S. calls to hold off the start of the launch,” reports AP. “Rosatom spokesman Sergei Novikov said Friday that uranium fuel shipped by Russia will be loaded into the Bushehr reactor on Aug. 21, beginning the startup process. ‘From that moment the Bushehr plant will be officially considered a nuclear-energy installation,’ he told The Associated Press. The United States has called for Russia to delay the startup until Iran proves that it’s not developing nuclear weapons. Russian officials said that the latest U.N. sanctions against Iran won’t affect the Bushehr project….”