How to justify what looks like a full-fledged war? In the days following the launch of the “Epic Fury” operation on February 28th, several members of the Trump administration spoke out to list the reasons that led the United States to bomb Iran alongside Israel. To denounce the danger that Tehran posed to the region, accused of seeking to obtain nuclear weapons, the emphasis was placed on the regime’s religious “fanaticism,” with Secretary of State Marco Rubio stating on March 2nd, “The entire regime is run by radical religious leaders who do not make geopolitical decisions. They make decisions based on theology, their apocalyptic vision of theology.” On the same day, his counterpart Pete Hegseth, Secretary of Defense, echoed a similar sentiment, saying, “Mad regimes like Iran, dominated by jihadist illusions, cannot possess nuclear weapons. It’s a matter of common sense.”
But is it really common sense? Coming from the Maga camp, the condemnation of an Iranian opponent subject to an apocalyptic worldview, fueled by end-time prophecies, may be surprising. Because for a significant portion of its evangelical base, what is happening in the Middle East is precisely seen through an eschatological prism, based on a particular interpretation of biblical texts.
Signs of the Times
From the announcement of the first bombings against Iran, many evangelical personalities have interpreted the actions through this eschatological lens.
