‘By Chika Abanobi
The current war going on between Iran and Israel-United States, and now in the third week, may or may not lead to the “Battle of Armageddon” as many Bible scholars fear.
Codenamed ‘Operation Roaring Lion” by Israel, and “Operation Epic Fury” by the United States, it has led to widespread destruction of lives and infrastructures in many countries that make up the Middle East.
They include Iran, Iraq, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Jordan and Turkey. The war which started with the assassination of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of Iran, and scores of his senior military/security officials, has also seen 56-year-old Mojtaba, his second son, emerge as his successor.
A father’s misgivings/opposition
Western intelligence sources say that his father, while alive, was not well-disposed to the idea of his son succeeding him. He based his objection on two grounds: (1) his theological disavowal of dynastic leadership, the same reason, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini’s son could not be allowed to succeed him (2) his firm conviction that Mojtaba, a minister without portfolio, kind of, is not brilliant enough in Islamic jurisprudence, going by his poor performance at the Islamic theological seminary in Qom, Iran, to succeed him.
His father's misgivings and opposition notwithstanding, Mojtaba's shadowy, subtle financial influence over the radical Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) saw him being elected, some say selected, by more than two-third population of the 88-member Assembly of Experts, to replace his late father as the country's Supreme Leader.A different kind of leader from his father
Although Donald Trump, the President of the United States, was quoted as saying that his election/selection is totally unacceptable to him, those who know him very well say that Mojtaba is the kind of guy anybody, including Trump, at first sight, will want to do business with.
This is because, unlike his father, a hardliner to the core, and, unbending in most of his views, and with whom you can easily know where he stood on issues or know, from his facial appearance, when he is angry or displeased with you, with Mojtaba, it is alleged that it is difficult to read his mind by reading his lips. An adept at double-speak and sometimes, speech obfuscation, he could lead you to think/believe he is going right when actually he is going left. Jaber Rajabi, former classmate who graduated with him from the same Islamic theological seminary in Iran and who later became one of the most dependable aides of Khamenei’s family noted, in an interview with “The Jerusalem Post” that, as a result of these character traits, Mojtaba, who many, including Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister, Pete Hegseth, US Secretary of Defence and Donald Trump are still debating whether he is alive or dead, may end up being deadlier than his late father if eventually he is alive and given the chance to rule or exercise some leadership authority.
His influential reach
The man said to be a secret billionaire in dollars and pounds sterlings is widely believed to be instrumental to the creation of the Quds (Jerusalem) Force among the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). And, through third parties, he bankrolls their operations worldwide, almost singlehandedly with his own personal fortunes.
According to Rajabi, Mojtaba strongly believes that they, including himself, have a strong role to play towards the liberation of Jerusalem (known as Quds in the Arabic language), captured from the Arabs by the Israeli Defence Forces, in the Six-Day War of 1967. Al-Quds means "The Holy" or "The Holy Sanctuary" and Madinat Al-Quds means "The City of Holiness."The Battle of Armageddon: the Christian and Muslim views
Like many of their Christian counterparts,.the Shiite Muslims, led by Iran, a non-Arab nation, strongly believe in the Battle of Armaggedon (Revelation 16:16), which will see many nations of the world coming together to fight the final earthly battle/war.
In Hebrew language, the place the battle is predicted to take place is called "Har Meghiddohn" meaning "Mountain of Megiddo." But many Bible scholars/geographers contend that, in reality, no place with such topography exists in Israel or Jerusalem outlay that can take the number of soldiers and their military hardware mentioned in the Bible, at a time. This is why some Christian sects like the Seventh Day Adventists, Jehovah Witnesses and God's Kingdom Society (GKS) believe that the location being talked about could be more spiritual than physical.
According to some Bible scholars, especially exponents of Last Days Events or the eschatologists, some countries whose military forces are expected to participate in the Battle of Armaggedon, include but not limited to Russia (Magog, according to Ezekiel chapter 38 and Revelation, chapter 16); Iran (Persia), Sudan (Kush), Libya (Put), Turkey (Gomer/Togarmah), European forces (the Beast), and "king from the east" (said to be China).But with the exception of Iran which currently has proven to be the military underdog in the joint US-Israeli airwar being waged against it, and Turkey, which is one of the Gulf/Middle Eastern states at the receiving end of the Iranian indiscriminate and ill-advised missile and drone strikes, no other country said to be mentioned as major players in the Battle of Armageddon is taking part in the US-led air bombardment.
But although he was not an outstanding, exceptional brilliant student at the Islamic theological institute, Mojtaba is said to be always fascinated whenever studies centre around the Apocalypse or Eschatology. He liked the part of it, according to the accounts of the Battle given in the Quran, that talk about the Arab/Muslim Army storming Al-Quds, the Holy Place or Holy Sanctuary (meaning, Jerusalem), to liberate it from the hands of the Zionists (Israel) and infidels. To that end, he sees the establishment, arming and financing of the “Axis of Resistance” comprising Hezbollah, Hamas and the Houthis as the right step towards the achievement of that noble goal.
Mojtaba not only saw their establishment and the intimidating equipage of Hezbollah as the Strike Force, as necessary, he also saw himself as playing a leading role in the great Battle. Hence, the creation of the Quds Force.
According to Rajabi, he did not only talk about it with whoever lent him a listening ear, he also liked to talk about how he would use military deception or subterfuge to lick up the military might of the enemy.
In the Shiite Islamic eschatology, the Battle of Armageddon, or Al-Malhama Al-Kubra (The Greatest Battle) involves the forces of Imam Mahdi—the 12th Imam who miraculously went into oblivion in 873 A D. returning to fight against the forces of Dajal (the False Prophet). While Sunni Muslims believe that it is Isa (Jesus) that will return to lead the forces of good, the Shiite Muslims believe that it is Mahdi, the 12th Imam (or Prophet in order of succession after Prophet Muhammad)
The Mojtaba’s tactics
To achieve his long-time goal of being at the forefront of leading Muslim military forces that will liberate Jerusalem from the hands of the Zionists/infidels, Mojtaba is said to be ready to do anything within his reach to compromise on any issue with a contending party.
On the part of United States, they may include the destruction of the alleged enriched uranium for making of nuclear bombs and ballistic missiles. But critics/cynics are quick to warn that while Mojtaba remains open to talks on these contentious issues, he could be actively working in the background, away from prying eyes, to build the kind of military might he believes he can use to overwhelm the enemy on the D-day. A smooth talker and a pragmatist par excellence, he is said to favour subtle approach to issues rather than in-your-face/abrasive threats that can enable the enemy know or rightly guess what you are up to.
“Let the Americans know that they do not expect that if Mojtaba takes steps back and looks to live in peace, that it is his actual intention”, Rajabi warned in the interview with “The Jerusalem Post”, adding that he likes to operate from the side of a green-snake-in-a-green-grass, on any issue.
The true nature/other side of Mojtaba
Rajabi who was later poisoned, after many unsuccessful assassination attempts made on his life, believes, without adducing any incontrovertible proof, that Mojtaba has a hand in his travails or ordeals.
He believes that the unsuccessful assassination attempts has something to do with the discovery that he knew too much about the financial muscles and networks of Mojtaba. Almost all his financial empires in countries like Iran, United Kingdom, United States, Germany, France,, Spain, Lebanon, Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, etc. are said to be held in trust for him by third-party financial czars in such a way that nothing has been traced to him. But with his stupendous wealth, he oils the ultra-secret and not-so-secret operations of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps in the Middle East and around the world.
Rajabi, who, at one time, also worked as a foreign-policy adviser to then Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and as a go-between for the regime-backed militias in Iraq, believes that whatever peace gestures that Mojtaba will come up with in the face of mounting pressures will be short-lived.His current whereabouts
Though said to be injured in the bombing that took the life of his father, with some saying moderately; some “seriously” (Netanyahu) “disfigured”(Hegseth) or “dead” (Trump), Western intelligence sources believe that Mojtaba Khamenei was, on the order of Vladimir Putin, secretly smuggled out of Iran to Russia where he is currently receiving medical treatments under close supervision of few trusted Iranian medical doctors.
. Abanobi, winner, 2018 Governor Olusegun Mimiko Prize for Foreign News Reporter of the Year (Nigeria Media Merit Award), is member, Journalists For Christ International Outreach.
