The most important development in the confrontation with Iran is not another destroyed radar, damaged naval facility or intercepted missile. It is the erosion of an assumption that shaped American policy for decades: that the Islamic Republic possessed an extraordinary capacity to escalate while the United States had an extraordinary obligation to exercise restraint. President Donald Trump has disrupted that imbalance. Tehran is discovering that military escalation can accelerate the destruction of the capabilities on which its regional power depends. Yet this success creates a more difficult question for Washington. Military power can change the balance of a conflict; it cannot by itself determine the political order that follows.

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Source: https://www.realcleardefense.com/articles/2026/09/14/america_is_winning_against_iran_now_it_needs_a_strategy_for_what_comes_next_1205879.html?fbclid=IwY2xjawUXvlVwZG9mAWV4dG4DYWVtAjEwAGJyaWQRMTBUejVrejVpR3R4NXpMbzNzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEeaaDJRcsBhpmnU8EsTGuIg6wSqkw9aSR8A9rCi0Pzy_gaSsWIzNN9JoPAQ5Y_aem_DuvtfFEsVwK4vL2cdeuU2A

The post America Is Winning Against Iran. Now It Needs a Strategy for What Comes Next. first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

This year’s BRICS summit has wrapped up in New Delhi with the usual promises of deepened cooperation and expanding economic ties. But there was an important absence.

Although the US-Israel war on Iran has affected most of BRICS’ 11 members and 10 partner countries, the declaration issued by the bloc did not address it directly. Nor did it condemn the United States, which – objectively speaking – is the aggressor state in the conflict.

The wording allowed all members to remain inside the same diplomatic tent. It also revealed just how difficult it is for BRICS to turn shared dissatisfaction with the Western-led order into coordinated geopolitical action.

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Source: https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2026/9/13/the-iran-war-reveals-the-limits-of?fbclid=IwY2xjawUXuclwZG9mAWV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkEDIyMjAzOTE3ODgyMDA4OTIAAR4i2ZyE7DVNY2Zr5UxHrivhNi6hYszoOlWgXTZm2wP02jsM_r8Z6WcmhJEyvA_aem_tD8TZfFBXC9A2XW7OaHQ0A

The post The Iran war reveals the limits of BRICS first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

The Feast of Trumpets is almost upon us. It is good to reflect on God’s guidance and ultimate victory. The world is so far away from the righteous decency that He has laid out for us it’s hard to know where to start. In spite of that, we can still be thankful for His truth, His word and the tremendous blessings we still enjoy.

This is all the more poignant as we reflect on the events of 9/11/2001. Most of us can remember where we were that day. My grandfather was actually airborne when the attack took place, en route to a reunion. His plane was grounded. Instead of continuing on his trip he returned home to be able to address the situation on TV and in print. As far away as that day seems at times the effects are still with us. In many ways it was a pivotal moment.

It is not insignificant that we still find ourselves embroiled in the turmoils of the Middle East. However most people may feel about our conflict with Iran, there is no doubt that they would inflict that and more on us again if given the chance.

Things got hot around Hormuz again this week. The announcement that the former passageway was clear of mine prompted Iran to try and launch more from shore, which is not exactly the ideal method. It has escalated from there, with attacks and reprisals rippling across the region.

The idea that oil and goods were flowing again essentially spells doom for Iran. Control of the Strait is leverage they need to retain relevance and their grip on power. Analysts debate how much oil is currently flowing. Ships transiting with their transponders on are few and far between, but this does not tell the whole tale. Most switch off and proceed with escort, and pipelines bypassing the strait have contributed a great deal.

This is why we see the Houthis on full offense over the last days, seizing an important island, with the encouragement and backing of Iran. Added pressure in the Red Sea keeps the trouble alive, and has indeed contributed to a spike in oil prices this week. Iraqi militias also struck a major Saudi pipeline. The Saudis have asked the US to intervene, but the feeling is we would prefer to have them step up and do their own dirty work. Time will tell.

There is plenty to be on alert about but we can thank God for the opportunity to pause on this double Sabbath Day and look forward to the time when all of these problems will be behind us.

-Michael

The post Weekly Update by Michael Armstrong – September 11, 2026 first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

The CENTCOM strikes appeared to focus on assets that Iran uses to sense ships to strike. US President Donald Trump told Fox News on September 1 that US forces struck an unspecified number of Iranian radars that Iran was attempting to rebuild.[4] Iran uses these radars to detect vessels transiting the strait.[5] CENTCOM noted that this followed the IRGC’s “attempted attacks” on commercial shipping in the strait, thus explicitly linking the attacks on shipping and the strikes.[6]

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Source: https://understandingwar.org/research/middle-east/iran-update-september-1-2026/?fbclid=IwY2xjawUXoHNwZG9mAWV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkEDIyMjAzOTE3ODgyMDA4OTIAAR68KImcGcDgXeXn5xIGiBUme8TxVvGALW9WRo_GQBD7MfKgOUEVHp-tCwaWsQ_aem_izjRRvkbje3Vzh-YsVynPQ

The post Iran Update, September 1, 2026 first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

Now the news is trying to make something of Trump’s relationship with his aide, Natalie Harp.  If you were married to Melania, I don’t think Natalie Harp would spark an interest.  I hope there’s nothing to it. If he allowed the media to break up his marriage and there wasn’t anything to it, it would be a sad day indeed. They’re printing Natalie’s letters, but who knows what goes through the head of a beautiful woman.  She certainly takes her job seriously.  

We’re at war, and we hardly know it.  We have to consult the news to find out what’s going on, and even then we’re not sure. The Strait of Hormuz is in the news again. Donald Trump claims we are policing the narrow gap, and the media is making the most of our vulnerabilities.

To be clear, I thought the war with Iran would be over by now, but those wily suckers refuse to give up. It’s like the Old Testament. Sooner or later they’ll be forced to reveal the obvious. But for now they’ve got unexpended drones. This is why we didn’t pull the trigger before. One thing about people from that region, they won’t admit defeat. Trump’s advisors should have told him that. They talk big. Too big.

 With all their “Save the Planet” jargon, they’re about to destroy California, if the job hasn’t been already done. I don’t know what the situation is now, so I’m avoiding California. I’d love to go back, but things are never as you left them.  

We’re playing mind games over Taiwan. Would the Chinese dare attack?  If they did, it would have an impact. We couldn’t afford gadgets anymore. But Trump is trying to repatriate these industries so we won’t worry.  But if China attacked Taiwan it might escalate.  That’s what we have to worry about.  Most of the world’s concerns are much more immediate.

Post apocalyptic movies are making a comeback.  There’s one candidate from Colorado claiming, forget the claims, we don’t want to know.  Resist the Devil and he will flee from you.

Mark

The post Weekly Update by Mark Armstrong – August 21, 2026 first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

The deal that US President Donald Trump signed at Versailles in June set an ambitious 60-day deadline for ending the war with Iran and reaching an accord on its nuclear program.

The deadline was Monday, and the two sides are further apart than they were then.

Talks, such as they are, have focused on reopening the Strait of Hormuz and lifting a US blockade on Iran, both of which were supposed to have happened under the interim deal. There has been no sign of any compromise on the strait, or that detailed nuclear talks have even begun.

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Source: https://www.timesofisrael.com/as-60-day-mou-expires-the-us-and-iran-are-even-further-apart-than-before/?fbclid=IwY2xjawT6y0RwZG9mAWV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkEDIyMjAzOTE3ODgyMDA4OTIAAR7D3_Q_K0rL8_0M8g_TbneWSWcc2K8uBUFws6qLQtdiQgaDCHrWWdUb_kgudQ_aem_-CH_KuGXdz165x-3qSNGkA

The post As 60-day MOU expires, the US and Iran are even further apart than before first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

The Strait of Hormuz is a long ways away.  Some reports say we have control and the others, who knows? We’re involved in two wars, or slightly involved. We know why. The Gulf is essential for a good bit of the oil out of the Middle East.  Zelensky, well that’s another story altogether.  I don’t know about his problem-solving abilities, but he has that look on his face. 

Trump has his number, if they’re speaking. The idea that a little guy like that could play such a major role! I don’t like our potential involvement in it.  But nobody asked me. I don’t like Zelensky’s reputation. 

The media is busy calling out Trump for every perceived infraction.  They can all go jump in the lake as far as I’m concerned. But he is into everything, and maybe that’s what the President was meant to do.  The courts are busy trying to slow him down, but he just keeps coming. Trump is apparently poised to declare the Strait of Hormuz a U. S. territory or something, and patrol it.

There’s lots of gossip news.  Caroline Levitt has resigned and now they’re talking about her joining a network.  Should be entertaining.  But she’s done a great job, good luck replacing her.  All the news now is about people in the media.  Will she go to Fox News?  Who cares?  

Mark

The post Weekly Update by Mark Armstrong – August 14, 2026 first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

The answer is far from clear, depending not only on how much oil remains in storage, but also on how much of it can actually be released.

Disruption doesn’t get any easier

How long reserves would last can only be ascertained by figuring out the size of the current disruption.

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Source: https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/are-global-oil-stocks-big-enough-weather-another-six-months-us-iran-war-2026-08-13/?fbclid=IwY2xjawTslMZwZG9mAWV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkEDIyMjAzOTE3ODgyMDA4OTIAAR7Jpy0L9I_IoCmJx7RJoKzrpWVNED9y_9U7pgos1cTrtxzodeivDSuIcWgIkA_aem_GfmQdL5XuolJhi7vO3A_ew

The post Are global oil stocks big enough to weather another 6 months of US-Iran war? first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

The Iranians haven’t learned their lesson. They’ve got pictures showing the First Family in coffins. Dead. I know this last round of images is going to outrage Mr. Trump, so how long can Iran last in its present form? I always thought Iranians were the smartest of the Islamists. Apparently not. Trump doesn’t suffer fools lightly. Iran thinks they can interfere with world trade by closing the Strait of Hormuz. I think they’ve got another thing coming. 

North Korea is upgrading their missiles that can reach the United States. Kim Jong Un better not be as stupid as he looks. He’s liable to fool around and find out.

The media is doing everything within their power to turn us against Trump. They’ve hauled out every argument in the book, but they’re not winning. That’s his specialty.

There have been earthquakes in diverse places. I lived through several in California, and they’re no joke. One time it splashed water out of our pool, ruined Dad’s upstairs trophy room and got us all up early. Dad said two bucks were locked in combat. My bed was on casters and started rolling around. I saw waves going through the concrete. I remember February 9, 1971 like it was yesterday. My buddies and I were going to go to the beach, but Dad intervened and said the garden needed work. But things are not built in South America like they are in California. No provision for earthquakes. The twin earthquakes in Venezuela last month have left nearly 5,000 dead and 21,000 displaced.

Ukraine still isn’t solved. Zelensky is strutting around like he’s important. The jury is still out. They boast of missiles hitting near Moscow. They better be careful. 

The news says that Walmart is locking up beef in California. I’ve been here a long time, and I don’t ever remember locking up beef. Where are they going to put it?

The media’s been diagraming Trump’s speech before he even made it. It turns out that it wasn’t nearly as explosive as advertised. But that’s the media. They hate Trump.

Mark 

The post Weekly Update by Mark Armstrong – July 17, 2026 first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.

The region has endured days of back-and-forth attacks in a conflict increasingly focused on control of the strait. The collapse of an interim ceasefire leaves no clear end in sight for the war that the U.S. and Israel began more than four months ago.

The U.S. Central Command said early Saturday that its seventh straight night of strikes had hit “surveillance sites, military logistics infrastructure, underground weapons storage, and maritime capabilities.”

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Source: https://apnews.com/article/iran-us-hormuz-strait-war-july-17-2026-2ad0cfe592eb258cb15a9eb04411d58a?fbclid=IwY2xjawTLeXBleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEe3wFouwZTMAUuso7co-qaIVJviAwp68nYnayOSkKX9iSXk8ql_f3KsMlV-Bw_aem_RYtPkjIiXEk2ogD4YzcgDA

The post US and Iran escalate strikes across Mideast first appeared on Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association.