Trump Knew Iran Could Close the Strait of Hormuz But Went to War Anyway as 13 US Servicemembers Now Lie Dead and Missiles Strike US Embassy in Baghdad

War always begins with speeches about strength and victory, but it inevitably ends with funerals. Only weeks into Donald Trump’s war with Iran, the first grim receipts are already arriving. Thirteen American servicemembers are dead, a girls’ school in Minab lies in ruins with the bodies of children pulled from the rubble, and now missiles are landing inside the heavily fortified compound of the United States embassy in Baghdad. What was promised as an ‘easy victory’ against Tehran is already morphing into the kind of widening Middle East war that history tells us ends in heart-rending misery and unbelievable destruction.

“But tidings out of the east and out of the north shall trouble him: therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy, and utterly to make away many.” Daniel 11:44 (KJB)

When Trump ordered American forces into open conflict with Iran, he knew exactly what the risks were. Military planners had warned for decades that if Tehran ever felt cornered, the retaliation would not stay contained within Iran’s borders. It would spread through the region like fire through dry brush — through Iraq, through the Persian Gulf, and through the narrow choke point of the Strait of Hormuz. Now that warning is becoming a stark reality. In fact, things are so bad that Trump is now sending 5,000 US Marines to be the first boots on the ground to try and wrest control of the situation back out of the hands of the Iranians. Based on recent troop deployments and warship relocations, this war could easily last well into winter and beyond. I want very much to see the United States win this thing and get our troops home quickly, but things are not trending in that direction.

As of mid-March 13th U.S. servicemembers have been killed and others seriously wounded as the conflict intensifies. The number has climbed steadily as Iran-aligned militias across the region launch drones, rockets, and missiles at American positions. But the most haunting images of this war are not coming from a battlefield. They’re coming from the rubble of a school in the Iranian city of Minab.

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An explosion tore through the Shajareh Tayyebeh elementary school, collapsing the building and killing roughly 170 children and teachers, most of them young schoolgirls. Early reports say the blast was caused by a U.S. Tomahawk cruise missile strike based on faulty intelligence, and the Pentagon has already announced an investigation. The result was one of the darkest moments of the conflict so far. Rows of small coffins, parents digging through concrete with bare hands, and classrooms turned into graves. Meanwhile the war itself continues to spread.

BREAKING NEWS: OPERATION EPIC FURY has struck a girl’s school in Iran, killing 51 children and wounding 60 more. This is an absolutely terrible start, and borders on the level of war crimes. The US and Israel need to issue an immediate statement and apology. pic.twitter.com/AIik2cPK6I

— Now The End Begins (@NowTheEndBegins) February 28, 2026

Iran has threatened to choke off the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow passage through which roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil supply flows. If that waterway is closed, the economic shock would ripple across the entire planet almost instantly. And the violence is no longer limited to Iran.

Missiles have now struck inside the U.S. embassy compound in Baghdad, a clear warning that Iran’s network of proxy militias across Iraq has entered the fight. Attacks like this are designed to do one thing: expand the battlefield and drag the United States deeper into the region. This is how Middle East wars spiral out of control in the blink of an eye. They begin with targeted strikes and promises of quick victories. But every retaliation demands another response, every escalation invites another counterstrike, and before long the conflict spreads far beyond the place where it started.

Trump saying that the war with Iran was won in the ‘first hour’. In reality, Operation Epic Fury has become an epic failure resulting in one dead US soldier per day on average. That’s not winning. @CENTCOM pic.twitter.com/CDrzT8eCpy

— Now The End Begins (@NowTheEndBegins) March 14, 2026

The Strait of Hormuz is now under threat. American forces across the Middle East are on high alert. Iranian proxy groups are mobilizing from Iraq to the Gulf. Missiles are hitting diplomatic compounds. And the war is still only in its opening weeks. History has shown us again and again that once wars in the Middle East begin to widen across borders, they become far harder to contain than the leaders who launched them ever imagined. And right now, the signs of that widening conflict are everywhere. Pray for our president that he would get saved, and then that the Holy Spirit would give him some much-needed wisdom and discernment because, if not, we’re going to find ourselves smack in the middle of World War Trump.

Now The End Begins is your front line defense against the rising tide of darkness in the last Days before the Rapture of the Church

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When you contribute to this fundraising effort, you are helping us to do what the Lord called us to do. The money you send in goes primarily to the overall daily operations of this site. When people ask for Bibles, we send them out at no charge. When people write in and say how much they would like gospel tracts but cannot afford them, we send them a box at no cost to them for either the tracts or the shipping, no matter where they are in the world. We have a Gospel Billboard program. We are now broadcasting Bible studies, Podcasts and a Sunday Service 5 times a week, thanks to your generous donations. All this is possible because YOU pray for us, YOU support us, and YOU give so we can continue growing.

But whatever you do, don’t do nothing. Time is short and we need your help right now. The Lord has given us an open door with a tremendous ‘course’ for us to fulfill that will create an excellent experience at the Judgement Seat of Christ. Please pray for our efforts, and if the Lord leads you to donate, be as generous as possible. The war is REAL, the battle HOT and the time is SHORT…TO THE FIGHT!!!

“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;” Titus 2:13 (KJB)

“Thank you very much!” – Geoffrey, editor-in-chief, NTEB

Donald Trump has deployed thousands of US Marines to the Strait of Hormuz amid mounting fears that America is set to put troops on the ground as the world’s oil supply is strangled.

The Strait of Hormuz is not just another stretch of water on a map. It is the narrow artery through which nearly a fifth of the world’s oil supply must pass, and when tension builds there the entire global system begins to shake. Now thousands of U.S. Marines and additional naval forces are being moved toward the region as the possibility of confrontation with Iran grows, and the world is once again staring at the Middle East powder keg. World War 3, anyone?

“For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows.” Matthew 24:7,8 (KJB)

When America starts moving Marines and warships into position around the Persian Gulf, that is not routine diplomacy. That is the unmistakable language of military preparation. It means the Pentagon — the Department of War — is positioning pieces on the chessboard in case the crisis around the Strait of Hormuz erupts into open conflict. Iran knows exactly where the leverage is. If the regime in Tehran ever seriously attempts to choke off the Strait of Hormuz, it would send oil prices skyrocketing overnight and slam the global economy into chaos. That is why the United States has historically treated that narrow waterway as a line that cannot be crossed. The question now is whether the current escalation is a show of force meant to deter Iran, or the opening chapter of something much larger.

Every warship sent to the Persian Gulf, every Marine deployment, every rising confrontation between Iran, Israel, and the West pushes the world another step closer to the moment when the Middle East explodes into the final series of conflicts the Bible describes. But while the world watches the Strait of Hormuz and wonders if another war is about to begin, the born-again Church is watching for something else entirely.

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Trump deploys 5,000 Marines into Hormuz tinderbox as boots on the ground fears grow after 13 US troops die in Iran war carnage

FROM THE UK DAILY MAIL: Secretary of War Pete Hegseth approved a request by US Central Command for the deployment of a Marine expeditionary unit, typically including several warships and 5,000 troops, three officials told the Wall Street Journal. The Japan-based USS Tripoli, an amphibious assault ship, and its attached Marines are now headed for the Middle East, where they join other Marines already in the fight, the officials said.

The war spiraled on Friday as the US death toll climbed to 13 troops, domestic gas prices soared to $3.60 per gallon and Iran’s security chief Ali Larijani defiantly taunted Trump on the streets of Tehran. The bolstered deployment comes as the Trump administration weighs seizing Iran’s Kharg Island, around 16 miles off the mainland in the Persian Gulf, which handles 90 percent of the Islamic regime’s fuel exports.

Trump told Fox News Radio Friday about taking control of the island: ‘It’s not high on the list, but it’s one of so many different things, and I can change my mind in seconds.’

Hegseth earlier lashed out at reporters at a press briefing at the Pentagon, slamming ‘fake headlines’ about the war and claiming ‘we’re dealing with’ the Strait, adding ‘you don’t need to worry about it.’ All six service members aboard a refueling aircraft that crashed in Iraq were confirmed dead as the stalemate in the Strait deepened.

The Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker went down in western Iraq after a mid-air collision in friendly airspace at around 2pm ET Thursday, with four crew members initially confirmed dead.

US Central Command confirmed Friday that two further crew members died after rescue efforts failed. The second aircraft involved in the collision landed safely, sustaining minor damage to its tail. The six were not immediately identified as the military informed next of kin, bringing the US death toll in the Iran war to 13 after seven service members were killed in a drone strike on a Kuwaiti base on the second day of fighting. READ MORE

Now The End Begins is your front line defense against the rising tide of darkness in the last Days before the Rapture of the Church

• HOW TO DONATE: Click here to view our WayGiver Funding page

When you contribute to this fundraising effort, you are helping us to do what the Lord called us to do. The money you send in goes primarily to the overall daily operations of this site. When people ask for Bibles, we send them out at no charge. When people write in and say how much they would like gospel tracts but cannot afford them, we send them a box at no cost to them for either the tracts or the shipping, no matter where they are in the world. We have a Gospel Billboard program. We are now broadcasting Bible studies, Podcasts and a Sunday Service 5 times a week, thanks to your generous donations. All this is possible because YOU pray for us, YOU support us, and YOU give so we can continue growing.

But whatever you do, don’t do nothing. Time is short and we need your help right now. The Lord has given us an open door with a tremendous ‘course’ for us to fulfill that will create an excellent experience at the Judgement Seat of Christ. Please pray for our efforts, and if the Lord leads you to donate, be as generous as possible. The war is REAL, the battle HOT and the time is SHORT…TO THE FIGHT!!!

“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;” Titus 2:13 (KJB)

“Thank you very much!” – Geoffrey, editor-in-chief, NTEB

From The Mysterious Drone Sightings Over New Jersey In 2024 To Today’s California Warnings, The Iranian ‘Mothership’ Story Has Returned but with a twist

In December of 2024, a strange story began circulating about mysterious drones flying over New Jersey. Soon after, a claim surfaced that Iran had positioned a “mothership” off the East Coast launching drones toward the United States. The story spread quickly, the headlines ran with it, and social media exploded. But within days the Pentagon flatly denied it, satellite imagery showed Iranian drone ships still sitting near Iran, and the entire narrative quietly faded away. Fast forward to today and suddenly the same storyline is back — except now it is being discussed in connection with a potential Iranian drone attack on California from a vessel offshore which is quite real.

“And he said unto me, What seest thou? And I answered, I see a flying roll; the length thereof is twenty cubits, and the breadth thereof ten cubits.” Zechariah 5:2 (KJB)

At first glance it sounds like the same rumor recycled again. But the reality is more complicated than that. The difference today is that the concept of a drone mothership is no longer theoretical. Iran actually built them. Over the past two years, Iran has begun converting large commercial container ships into floating drone bases capable of launching unmanned aircraft far from its own shores. One of the most notable examples is the Iranian naval vessel IRIS Shahid Bagheri, a converted container ship outfitted with a drone runway, helicopter facilities, missiles, and electronic warfare systems. In essence, Iran cannot build a traditional aircraft carrier, so it built something cheaper and far more unconventional — a drone carrier.

Trump mentally preparing you to accept the coming sleeper cell false flag attacks. pic.twitter.com/xaibQVjccZ

— Now The End Begins (@NowTheEndBegins) March 12, 2026

These ships are designed to stay at sea for extended periods and launch surveillance drones or strike drones hundreds of miles from the launch point. In military terms, this is called power projection, and it allows a nation with limited conventional naval power to extend its reach across entire oceans. So when intelligence analysts talk about the possibility of drones being launched from a vessel offshore, they are not inventing science fiction. The technology exists, but that does not mean the rumors are automatically true.

The United States monitors the world’s oceans with satellites, radar systems, and naval patrols. A large vessel approaching the American coastline would not go unnoticed, and drones entering U.S. airspace would trigger multiple detection systems. In other words, launching a drone attack on the U.S. mainland from offshore would be extremely risky and difficult to pull off without detection. That is why the 2024 New Jersey story collapsed so quickly, there was simply no evidence to support it. But that was then, and this is now

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However, today’s discussion is emerging in a very different context. The United States and Iran are now engaged in open conflict following a series of strikes earlier this year. During the first hours of that war, U.S. forces reportedly targeted Iranian naval assets including one of the country’s drone-carrier ships. This is important because it reveals how seriously the military views these platforms. A floating drone base capable of launching swarms of unmanned aircraft is not just a curiosity — it is a strategic weapon. And that brings us to the bigger picture.

The development of drone carriers is part of a much larger transformation happening in warfare. Nations like China, Turkey, and Iran are experimenting with new ways to launch large numbers of inexpensive drones from ships, potentially overwhelming traditional defenses. Instead of a handful of expensive fighter jets, the future battlefield may involve hundreds of autonomous drones launched from sea-based platforms.

For now, reports of Iranian drones attacking California remain unverified intelligence warnings rather than confirmed threats. Officials have said there is no evidence of an imminent attack. But the fact that such scenarios are even being discussed shows how quickly modern warfare is changing. And if there is one lesson from both the New Jersey incident and the current California warning, it is this: rumors can spread faster than facts, but real military technology often lies somewhere underneath the noise. The challenge is separating speculation from reality before the next headline turns into the next panic. History has shown that the fog of war produces plenty of both.

Iran drones reaching West Coast

What kind of attack drones does Iran have and could they strike California?

Now The End Begins is your front line defense against the rising tide of darkness in the last Days before the Rapture of the Church

• HOW TO DONATE: Click here to view our WayGiver Funding page

When you contribute to this fundraising effort, you are helping us to do what the Lord called us to do. The money you send in goes primarily to the overall daily operations of this site. When people ask for Bibles, we send them out at no charge. When people write in and say how much they would like gospel tracts but cannot afford them, we send them a box at no cost to them for either the tracts or the shipping, no matter where they are in the world. We have a Gospel Billboard program. We are now broadcasting Bible studies, Podcasts and a Sunday Service 5 times a week, thanks to your generous donations. All this is possible because YOU pray for us, YOU support us, and YOU give so we can continue growing.

But whatever you do, don’t do nothing. Time is short and we need your help right now. The Lord has given us an open door with a tremendous ‘course’ for us to fulfill that will create an excellent experience at the Judgement Seat of Christ. Please pray for our efforts, and if the Lord leads you to donate, be as generous as possible. The war is REAL, the battle HOT and the time is SHORT…TO THE FIGHT!!!

“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;” Titus 2:13 (KJB)

“Thank you very much!” – Geoffrey, editor-in-chief, NTEB