Many in the Iranian leadership believe the war launched by Israel and the United States in February is the war of the end times: the final showdown with the US – the Great Satan – and al-Dajjāl – Donald Trump.

Iranian senior cleric Ayatollah Seyyed Hassan Ameli declared Donald Trump “al-Dajjāl” – the Muslim equivalent of the Antichrist, in a sermon.

Trump “is completely one-eyed, and this is a sign of the end times,” he said. (Being one-eyed is a key marker of the Dajjāl.) And Trump “sees the world through a material lens” and “covets wealth wherever it exists – whether it’s Middle Eastern Oil, Syrian oil, or Ukraine’s minerals”.

Ameli is a member of the Assembly of Experts, the body with the power to appoint, oversee and fire the Supreme Leader of Iran. It selected the new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, son of Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, after his father was killed in US–Israeli air strikes. Ameli represents the Ardabil province, in northwest Iran.

Recent reports from the Military Religious Freedom Foundation suggest some US military commanders are also viewing the war between the US and Iran through a religious lens – and even as the start of the final apocalyptic battle of Armageddon.

One non-commissioned officer reported that his commander declared: “President Trump had been appointed by Jesus to light the signal fire in Iran to cause Armageddon and mark his return to earth.” Jesus is a key player on both sides of this particular war.

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