Islam Resurgent (5) - Butting to the South

Daniel saw the ram (Iran) charging to the west, the north and the south.

I watched the ram as he charged toward the west and the north and the south. No animal could stand against him, and none could rescue from his power. He did as he pleased and became great (Dan 8:4).

The first two of these charges have already taken place. To the west of Iran is the nation of Iraq. In 1980 Iraq invaded Iran, and military strategists said that Iran would soon have to surrender. To their surprise the Iranian troops forced the invading army back across their border. Iran then attempted to invade Iraq and topple its Baathist socialist government of Saddam Hussein. (He was a client of the US back then, before he was bitten by the hand that fed him).

More recently, since the US invasion of Iraq, the Iranians have been supporting the Shiite people in Iraq.

The nations to the north of Iran are Syria and Lebanon. There are already strong links between Iran and Syria, and Iranian power has been influential in Lebanon. Iran also established Hezbollah, which led the resistance against Israel's invasion of Lebanon.

The butting to the north and the west is easy to understand, but I have never got what Daniel meant by butting to the south. There is nothing to the south of Iran but sea. Recently I have realised that this is Daniel's point.

To the south of Iran are the Strait of Hormuz, which mark the entrance to the Persian gulf. The Strait of Homruz is about twenty miles wide at its narrowest point. Most of the oil from Iraq and Saudi Arabia is carried through this narrow gap in massive supertankers. This is about twenty percent of the total supply of oil available. This means that if Iran "buts to the south" and closes this waterway, the United States will powerless to prevent it. The price of oil could shoot up to $200 a barrel.

George Bush shuld be careful before having a go at Iran. He might bite off more than he can chew.

More here.