BREAKING NEWS
The Associated Press (“AP News”) reports that Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian were found dead at the site of a helicopter crash on Monday (5/20/2024) following a search and rescue operation along a foggy, mountainous region located about 12 miles south of the Azerbaijan-Iran border, according to Iranian state media.
President Raisi was visiting the border area on Sunday with Azerbaijan’s President, Ilham Aliyev, to inaugurate a dam. The visit came despite strained relations between the two countries following a 2023 gun attack on Azerbaijan’s Embassy in Tehran and Azerbaijan’s diplomatic relations with Israel – which Iran’s Shiite theocracy views as its main enemy in the region.
The crash comes as the Middle East remains unsettled by the Israel-Hamas war, during which President Raisi, under Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, launched an unprecedented drone-and-missile attack on Israel just last month. Under Raisi, Iran has enriched uranium closer than ever to weapons-grade levels, supplied bomb-carrying drones to Russia for its war in Ukraine, and armed terrorist militia groups across the region.
The AP News report may be read HERE.
According to NBC News, the cause of the helicopter crash was unclear, but U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said that intelligence officials indicated “no evidence of foul play.” Mainstream news agencies are consistently reporting that the presence of cold and foggy weather, mountainous terrain, and potential mechanical issues with the aging Bell helicopter likely contributed to, or caused, the crash.
My brothers and sisters, it’s far too soon to know what political fallout may occur, as Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, remains in full control as the country’s spiritual leader; however, this is a great time to seek the Lord and ask that He would use this tragic event to change hearts and minds within Iran’s leadership.
Let’s pray that Iran would reconsider its longstanding ideology, religion and policies promoting terrorism, its policies and acts of war against Israel, its ever-present threat of nuclear weapons development via clandestine uranium enrichment, and its overt threats to use nuclear weapons against Israel and/or other nations.
Let’s also pray that the love of God would enter and overflow in the hearts of Iran’s leaders – in a magnificent move of the Holy Spirit. You see, nothing is impossible with God! Our God has a way of turning what man meant for evil into our good and His glory (see Genesis 50:20)!
Let’s remember:
Genesis 50:20 (NKJV)
What the Evil One Meant for Our Harm, God Turns for Our Good
“But as for you [Joseph’s brothers], you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive.”
Praise Jesus forevermore!
