The news today is filled with stories about Syria and its civil war as well as its relationship with Iran and Iran’s progress on the development of nuclear weapons. I don’t normally write about prophecy as it concerns us in the late stages of this age, I don’t claim to have expertise in that specific area of Bible study. But we are flooded with news and current events involving the countries of Syria and Iran. The volume of news on these two lead to speculation and rumors about their roll in end time events has encouraged me to look at what the bible says about them and what roll they may play in our future.
Iran and Syria have been solid allies for years and Iran continues to aid Syria, along with Russia’s support, in its efforts to put down a civil uprising and revolution within its borders. Iran also supports and finances the terrorist group Hezbollah in Syria and Lebanon. Iran does not recognize Israel as a State and provides support for terrorist groups Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. They also provide support for the Houthi Rebels in Yemen. Iran has to its credit the 1998 embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania and were found complicit in the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole by Al Qaeda. They were also active players in the Riyadh compound bombings in 2003.
Attacks by Hezbollah alone include the following (Wikipedia):

• The 1982-1983 Tyre headquarters bombings

• The blowing up of a van filled with explosives in front of the U.S. embassy in Beirut killing 58 Americans and Lebanese in 1983.

• The 1983 Beirut barracks bombing of the U.S. Marine and French ‘Drakkar’ barracks which killed 241 American and 58 French peacekeepers. On May 30, 2003, a U.S. federal judge ruled that Hezbollah carried out the attack at the direction of the Iranian government.

• The 1983 Kuwait bombings in collaboration with the Iraqi Dawa Party.

• The 1984 United States embassy annex bombing, killing 24 people.

• The hijacking of TWA flight 847 holding the 39 Americans on board hostage for weeks in 1985 and murder of one U.S. Navy sailor

• The Lebanon hostage crisis from 1982 to 1992.

• According to Middle East analyst James Philips, an August 1989 bombing in London was a failed Hezbollah assassination attempt on Indian-born British author Salman Rushdie, after the Iranian government put a $2.5 million bounty on his head over the novel The Satanic Verses. Iranian officials have repeatedly called for Rushdie’s death as recently as 2005.

• The bombing of the Israeli Embassy in Argentina killing twenty-nine people in 1992. Hezbollah operatives boasted of involvement.

• The bombing of a Jewish community center in Argentina killing 85 people in 1994. Hezbollah claimed responsibility. Argentine justice accused Iran of being behind the attacks because of Buenos Aires’ decision to suspend a nuclear material delivery and technology transfer

• The 1994 AC Flight 901 attack, killing 21 people, in Panama. Hezbollah claimed responsibility.

• The 1996 Khobar Towers bombing, killing 19 US servicemen. On December 22, 2006, federal judge Royce C. Lamberth ruled that Iran was responsible for the attack, stating “The totality of the evidence at trial…firmly establishes that the Khobar Towers bombing was planned, funded, and sponsored by senior leadership in the government of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The defendants’ conduct in facilitating, financing, and providing material support to bring about this attack was intentional, extreme, and outrageous.”

• The 2012 Burgas bus bombing, killing 6, in Bulgaria. Hezbollah is believed to have carried out that attack on its own accord, without any Iranian involvement or foreknowledge.

Iran is the leading state sponsor of terrorism in the world today! Will they attack Israel? Will they start world war three? What does the bible say?
Isaiah documented the following prophecy concerning an attack on Jerusalem by the Persians.

Isaiah 22:1-14 (NKJV)
1 The burden against the Valley of Vision. What ails you now, that you have all gone up to the housetops, 2 You who are full of noise, A tumultuous city, a joyous city? Your slain men are not slain with the sword, Nor dead in battle. 3 All your rulers have fled together; They are captured by the archers. All who are found in you are bound together; They have fled from afar. 4 Therefore I said, “Look away from me, I will weep bitterly; Do not labor to comfort me Because of the plundering of the daughter of my people.” 5 For it is a day of trouble and treading down and perplexity By the Lord GOD of hosts In the Valley of Vision– Breaking down the walls And of crying to the mountain.
6 Elam bore the quiver With chariots of men and horsemen, And Kir uncovered the shield. 7 It shall come to pass that your choicest valleys Shall be full of chariots, And the horsemen shall set themselves in array at the gate. 8 He removed the protection of Judah. You looked in that day to the armor of the House of the Forest; 9 You also saw the damage to the city of David, That it was great; And you gathered together the waters of the lower pool.
10 You numbered the houses of Jerusalem, And the houses you broke down To fortify the wall. 11 You also made a reservoir between the two walls For the water of the old pool. But you did not look to its Maker, Nor did you have respect for Him who fashioned it long ago. 12 And in that day the Lord GOD of hosts Called for weeping and for mourning, For baldness and for girding with sackcloth. 13 But instead, joy and gladness, Slaying oxen and killing sheep, Eating meat and drinking wine: “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!” 14 Then it was revealed in my hearing by the LORD of hosts, “Surely for this iniquity there will be no atonement for you, Even to your death,” says the Lord GOD of hosts.

I have emphasized the attack being by a Persian enemy. Not all or even most theologians agree with me. Most bible commentaries describe the event documented in the first 14 verses of Isaiah 22 as attacks by the Assyrian King Sennacherib followed years later by Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. Several things shed serious doubt upon that assessment.

• Sennacherib’s capital was the Assyrian city of Nineveh and Nebuchadnezzar’s capitol was Babylon. Isaiah stated the attackers where from Elam and Kir.
• Sennacherib did mount an attack on Jerusalem but he was unsuccessful in his attempt.
“Thus the LORD saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib the king of Assyria, and from the hand of all others, and guided them on every side.” 2 Chronicles 32:22 (NKJV)
• Nebuchadnezzar also attacked Jerusalem and destroyed its Temple and carried the residents to Babylon.
“But after that our fathers had provoked the God of heaven unto wrath, he gave them into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, the Chaldean, who destroyed this house, and carried the people away into Babylon.” Ezra 5:12 (KJV)
• Isaiah’s account describes the city as being heavily damaged but no mention of the Temple’s destruction or the captivity of its residents.
“You also saw the damage to the city of David, That it was great; And you gathered together the waters of the lower pool.” Isaiah 22:9 (NKJV)

Another point of contention between theologians and bible scholars is the city of Kir. Many theologians and scholars do not recognize more than one Kir, but two are mentioned in the Bible and their distinction can be a key to understanding specific prophecies.
Wikipedia does an excellent job of distinguishing between the two below.

Land of Kir
From Wikipedia
The Land of Kir is a location mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, where the Arameans are said to have originated from. It is also the place to which Tiglath-Pileser III of Assyria carried the Aramean captives after he had taken the city of Damascus and conquered the kingdom of Aram-Damascus (2 Kings 16:9; Amos 1:5; 9:7). Isaiah 22:6 mentions it together with Elam, implying an association between the two. This “Kir” is situated east of the Euphrates or the Tigris River. Some scholars have supposed that Kir is a variant of Cush (Susiana), on the south of Elam. Other scholars believe that the Land of Kir is a location at Carma, an ancient city on banks of the Mardus River in modern-day Iran, or an area on the Kar River in the northern reaches of Ancient Armenia. Some Jewish scholars believe the Land of Kir to be located at Ihi Dekirah, a place east of the Euphrates River about halfway between Anah and Babylon, near Hīt in modern-day Iraq.

Kir of Moab
From Wikipedia
Kir of Moab is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible as one of the two main strongholds of Moab, the other being Ar. It is probably the same as the city called Kir-haresh, Kir-hareseth (Hebrew: קִיר-חֲרֶשֶׂת; Isa 16:7), and Kir-heres (Hebrew: קִיר חָרֶשׂ; Isa 16:11; Jer 48:31, 48:36) The word Kir alludes to a wall or fortress. It is identified with the later city Al Karak.
According to the second Book of Kings, after the death of Ahab, king of Israel, Mesha, the king of Moab (see Mesha Stele), threw off allegiance to the king of Israel. Ahab’s successor, Jehoram, in seeking to regain his supremacy over Moab, entered into an alliance with Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, and with the king of Edom. The three kings lead their armies against Mesha, who was driven back to seek refuge in Kir-haraseth. The Moabites were driven to despair. Mesha then took his eldest son, who would have reigned in his stead, and sacrificed him as a burnt-offering on the wall of the fortress in the sight of the allied armies. “There was great indignation against Israel: and they departed from him, and returned to their own land(s).” The invaders evacuated the land of Moab, and Mesha achieved the independence of his country (2 Kings 3:20-3:27).[3] Josephus said the kings pitied the need which the Moabite monarch had felt when he offered up his child, and so withdrew.
Kir is also the name of another place in the Hebrew Bible, to which Tiglath-Pileser carried the Aramean captives after he had taken the city of Damascus (2 Kings 16:9; Amos 1:5). It is also the location from which the Arameans are said to have originated from 9:7). Isaiah 22:6 mentions it along with Elam. Some scholars have supposed that Kir is a variant of Cush (Susiana), on the south of Elam.

Isaiah also made a clear distinction in one mention of Kir, leaving no doubt there is more than one with his identification of which Kir he was speaking of.

“The burden against Moab. Because in the night Ar of Moab is laid waste And destroyed, Because in the night Kir of Moab is laid waste And destroyed,” Isaiah 15:1 (NKJV)

The point of sorting all this out is an attempt to show that the Bible does clearly show a future attack on Jerusalem by Iran. Both Kir and Elam were located in the area occupied by Iran today.
While the Bible shows significant damage will occur to Jerusalem, Iran’s attack will not end well for them. Jeremiah said the following:

“The word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah the prophet against Elam in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah king of Judah, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Behold, I will break the bow of Elam, the chief of their might. And upon Elam will I bring the four winds from the four quarters of heaven, and will scatter them toward all those winds; and there shall be no nation whither the outcasts of Elam shall not come. For I will cause Elam to be dismayed before their enemies, and before them that seek their life: and I will bring evil upon them, even my fierce anger, saith the LORD; and I will send the sword after them, till I have consumed them: And I will set my throne in Elam, and will destroy from thence the king and the princes, saith the LORD. But it shall come to pass in the latter days, that I will bring again the captivity of Elam, saith the LORD.” Jeremiah 49:34-39 (KJV)

The entire 48th chapter of Jeremiah concerning Kedar, Ammon, Edom, and Elam describes carnage over a large area of Syria, Jordon, and northern Israel, In addition to a large area of Iran just east of the Persian Gulf.

Kedar was located in southern Syria, Ammon was south of Kedar, and Edom south of Ammon. The area east of the Persian Gulf in Iran was Elam.

Isaiah adds credence to this carnage with his prediction of the destruction of Damascus.

“The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap. The cities of Aroer are forsaken: they shall be for flocks, which shall lie down, and none shall make them afraid. The fortress also shall cease from Ephraim, and the kingdom from Damascus, and the remnant of Syria: they shall be as the glory of the children of Israel, saith the LORD of hosts.” Isaiah 17:1-3 (KJV)

This prophecy describes devastation so great it extends into northern Israel (Ephraim’s location). We can only guess what turns Damascus into a “ruinous heap” and makes the land around the area fit only for flocks. My own guess is a nuclear explosion devastates the area, perhaps the desperate effort of Israel to ward off an attack by Syria and Iran or maybe a nuclear accident involving the premature explosion of an Iranian bomb. Whatever it is, Damascus disappears and large area around it is laid waste.

The end time for the completion of this age is rapidly approaching, the threats from Iran are merely one of the reminders.