US President Donald Trump will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin at the G20 Summit in Osaka Japan on Friday, with Iran reportedly high on the meeting’s planned agenda, along with Venezuela, Afghanistan and Syria. The announcement was made hours after Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khemenei posted a statement on his official website that “The most vicious officials of the [U.S.] government accuse Iran and insult it. The Iranian nation will not give in and retreat in the face of such insults.” He was referring to an earlier announcement that Iran will speed up enrichment of Uranium as early as this week.

US envoy Jason Greenblatt gave interviews with several media outlets this week following the rollout of economic aspects of the Trump Administration’s so-called “deal of the century” to end the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. In an interview Wednesday with Israel’s i24 News, he said the “Peace to Prosperity” workshop had been a success, adding “the Palestinian people have seen it. They should be excited because if we achieve a political solution to the conflict, they have a tremendous amount to benefit from.”

Chilean President Sebastián Piñera met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Wednesday, dealing yet another setback to the movement to Boycott, Divest and Sanction (BDS) the Jewish State. Despite a diplomatic row created by Piñera’s visit to the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City which violated routine protocols, the meeting was cordial and a joint press appearance with the two leaders was dominated by words of friendship and opportunities for the two countries to help each other in various ways.

Israeli communities near the border with the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip have continued to face terrorism in the form of incendiary devices attached to kites and balloons being sent over the border to burn their fields and forests, with 19 separate fires being reported on Wednesday, following 10 on Tuesday and 13 on Monday. IDF Maj.-Gen. Kamil Abu Rokon posted a video Wednesday telling residents of the Gaza Strip that it was because of this terrorism that Israel is ceasing shipments of fuel to power electricity plants in the Strip. “Between 85 and 75 tankers of fuel enter the Gaza Strip each week, which helps significantly increase electricity hours. Terrorism prevents you from having that,” the video said.

The Big BBC News Arabic Survey was published this week showing, among other things, that more than half of the young people living in the Middle East would like to emigrate. “The number itself is alarming and has several components,” Dr. Mohammed Masbah, director of the Moroccan Institute for Policy Analysis in Rabat, told The Media Line. “Politically, there is a lack of confidence in the government as youth believe the government cannot solve their problems. Socioeconomically, youth unemployment is high; the belief is it will get worse.” He added that because of higher rates of education, young people have also become “more critical of traditional religious authority.”

Iran has rapidly improved its cyber capabilities. It is still not in the top rank of cyber powers, but it is ahead of most nations in strategy and organization for cyber warfare. Iran has a good appreciation for the utility of cyber as an instrument of national power. Its extensive experience in covert activities help guide its strategy and operations using cyber as a tool for coercion and force, and it has created a sophisticated organizational structure to manage cyber conflict. This means any attack on the United States will not be accidental but part of a larger strategy of confrontation.

After a beautiful morning at the garden tomb, the celebration continues at the opening night in the Pais Arena with a grand parade of the nations! Each country present at the Feast has a representative carry their national flag on stage to display each nation’s love and support of Israel. It is a powerful and tangible expression of the prophetic call of the nations to come up to Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles!