(Jerusalem, Israel) — At 11:20am eastern time on Wednesday, President Trump addressed the nation on the latest crisis with Iran.

Here are 7 key takeaways:

1. The President said that“no American or Iraqi lives were lost.”
2. Iraq fired 15 missiles (not 22, as originally reported) at Iraqi bases housing U.S. forces — 4 of the missiles (nearly 1/3) failed to detonate.
3. After this lame counter-attack, Iran “appears to be standing down,” said the President — Tehran does not appear (as of yet) to be trying to escalate.
4. The U.S. will now impose even more economic sanctions on Iran. “These powerful sanctions will remain until Iran changes its behavior. In recent months alone, Iran has seized ships in international waters, fired an unprovoked strike on Saudi Arabia and shot down two American drones.”
5. The President did not signal that the U.S. would launch an immediate military retaliation — however, he did say that all “options” are available to him, thus clearly reserving the right to use force if additional events warrant. My sense is that he wants to de-escalate after sending Tehran a powerful signal of American resolve.
6. The President said the Iranian missiles were built with the billions the Obama administration gave Tehran.
7. The President criticized past American administrations and other world powers — notably Europe — for not being tough enough against Iranian aggression and made clear that it’s time for a change. “For far too long, all the way back to 1979 to be exact, nations have tolerated Iran’s destructive and destabilizing behavior in the Middle East and beyond. Those days are over.”

So far, the President and his national security team have handled this crisis rather well.

• Let’s continue praying for the Lord to grant them — and our allies — the wisdom they need to both contain and counter the Iranian threat.
• Let’s pray for the protection of American and allied civilians and military forces in the region.
• Let’s pray that the suffering people of Iran will soon be liberated from the ayatollahs reign of terror.
• And let’s pray for the Church in the region to be strong and bold as witnessess of the Prince of Peace.

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