
Despite over 20,000 US-Israeli strikes during Operation Epic Fury, Iran has rebuilt missile bases, ports, bridges, and production facilities within days or weeks, maintaining its grip on the Strait of Hormuz and defying Western expectations of collapse. This resilience signals that military force alone cannot neutralise Iran's strategic power in the Middle East, a region central to end-times prophecy — Iran (ancient Persia) is explicitly named as a key player in the coalition that marches against Israel in the latter days. Ezekiel 38:5 lists Persia among the nations that will rise against Israel, and Iran's demonstrated durability and defiance align with the biblical portrait of a nation that remains a formidable force right up to the final conflict.