(siren blaring)

- This week on Jerusalem Dateline:

a special look at Iran.

Iran retaliates against the United States

for killing General Qasem Soleimani.

What's next for the Middle East?

And did Iran shoot downa Ukrainian airliner?

Plus Soleimani's legacy.

Thousands of armed Shiitemilitiamen across the Middle East.

And some good news: hope for Iranians.

All this and more, thisweek on Jerusalem Dateline.

Hello and welcome to thisedition of Jerusalem Dateline.

I'm Chris Mitchell.

From Tehran to Washingtonand around the world,

nations are still dealingwith the aftershock

of one of the mostpotentially explosive events

in recent history: the killing

of Iran's number twoleader, Qasem Soleimani,

with many asking what comes next.

CBN's Senior InternationalCorrespondent Gary Lane

brings us this report.

- Western officials nowsay it is highly likely

that Iran was responsiblefor shooting down

a Ukrainian passengerairliner late Tuesday,

killing all 176 people on board.

The crash occurred just hours

after Iran launched a barrage of missiles

against US airbases in Iraq.

This video shows the moment the Boeing 737

was struck by a missile.

An Iranian residentrecorded video of the moment

the plane crashed to theground outside Tehran.

Iranian media is broadcasting CCTV video

that shows debris on fire,streaking past the camera.

- The evidence indicates that the plane

was struck down by an Iraniansurface to air missile.

- [Gary] Westernintelligence officials say

it's likely the Iranians firedoff the anti-aircraft missile

because they mistook theUkrainian passenger plane

for a possible US fighter jet.

Iran has invited officials from Boeing,

the US, and Canada to investigate,

but the US may not wantAmericans go to Iran

with tensions so high.

Just hours after thecrash, Iran had cleared

all evidence of the accidentfrom the crash zone.

The black boxes have been recovered,

but it remains unclear

if Iran will turn them overto western investigators.

Meanwhile, back in Washington,

the House passed the War Powers Resolution

which says the presidentmust inform Congress

before taking furthermilitary action against Iran.

Only three Republicansvoted for the measure,

eight Democrats against.

The resolution is notlaw, it's non-binding;

simply a Sense of the House resolution

that requires no presidential signature.

But House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says

the measure has real teeth.

She says Trump endangered thelives of American diplomats

and service members whenhe ordered the strike

that killed Iranian QudsForce General Qasem Soleimani.

- The president to say,

"Oh, I inform you by reading my tweets."

No, that's not the relationship

that our founders had in mind.

- [Gary] Pelosi and otherDemocrat leaders are upset

because the president did not inform them

prior to taking action against Iran.

At a rally in Toledo Thursday night,

the president said he had a good reason

not to tell them about it.

- You know, these aresplit-second decisions.

You have to make a decision.

We didn't have time to call up Nancy,

who is not operating with a full deck.

- [Gary] The resolution passed

after Trump said Soleimani was planning

to blow up our embassy in Iraq.

Gary Lane, CBN News.

- With accusations flying,supporters of the strike

that killed Soleimani sayit's important to remember

the current round of trouble began

when an Iranian-backed militia attack

on a US facility in Iraq thatkilled an American contractor.

Here's a look at how the major events

have continued to unfold.

After days of mass ceremonies,

mourners prepared for theburial of Qasem Soleimani.

The crowds were so large at one ceremony,

that at least 40 died in a stampede.

And then came the Iranian response.

Iran called the missile attackOperation Martyr Soleimani,

and fired the surface to surface missiles

at two US military bases, onenear Erbil in Kurdish Iraq

and the other in Iraq's Anbar Province

at the Ain Assad Air Base,

which President Trump visited in 2018.

Iran's supreme leader called it

a slap in the face to the US,

and Iran's Foreign Minister,Javad Zarif tweeted:

"Iran took and concluded

"proportionate measures in self-defense,"

and he added, "We do notseek escalation or war,

"but will defend ourselvesagainst any aggression."

After the attacks, PresidentTrump tweeted, "All is well!

"Missiles launched from Iran

"at two military bases located in Iraq.

"Assessment of casualtiesand damages taking place now.

"So far, so good!"

And on Tuesday he said it wouldn't be good

for the US to leave Iraq.

- Well, I think it's the worst thing

that could happen to Iraq.

If we leave, that would mean

that Iran would have amuch bigger foothold,

and the people of Iraq do not want to see

Iran running the country,that I can tell you.

So, we'll see how it all works out.

- [Chris] Secretary of State Mike Pompeo

defended the decision to kill Soleimani.

- We could clearly seewere continuing efforts

on behalf of this terrorist

to build out a networkof campaign activities

that were gonna lead, potentially,

to the death of many more Americans.

It was the rightdecision; we got it right.

- [Chris] Even after Iran'sretaliations by its military,

there's still concernabout Iran's proxies.

- It's been Iran, through its proxies,

and it has consistently escalated this

in terms of the size, scale,scope of their attacks.

- [Chris] And those proxiesin the region are extensive.

They include Hezbollahoperating in Lebanon and Syria,

plus the Houthis is Yemen.

In addition, Iran has anumber of Shiite militias,

like Hash Al-Shabi inside Iraq.

We've also learned that theMahdi Army has been re-activated

by the infamous Shiite-Iraqicleric Muqtada al-Sadr.

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- [Wendy] Nigerian Christiansare being slaughtered

every day.- Christians in Iran

are routinely arrestedbecause of their faith.

- [Woman] Napoli Christianscontinue to suffer.

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- [Chris] Phillip Smyth ofthe Washington Institute

has spent years studying theIranian-backed militia groups

and developing what he calls

The Shia Militia Mapping Project

that identifies those Shiite militias

throughout the Middle East.

Smyth sat down with CBN's John Jessup

in our Washington studio toexplain his important message

to the US and the West.

- We have a multitude ofdifferent Shia militias,

and because of that,

not all of them share the same ideology,

but there is a very pusher

for why there are so manyShia militias, and it's Iran.

The vast majority of Shia militias

that have popped up in the Middle East

over the past couple of years

have all been guided by theIslamic Revolutionary Guard,

and by the general ideology in Iran called

absolute (speaking in foreign language),

where the ultimate religious

and political person on the ground

who's commanding a lot ofthese groups is, technically,

the Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei.

- What about the militias now,

in the wake of the deathof Qasem Soleimani?

- He was a guy on the ground

who knew how to buildrelationships, and not just that;

what made him very important

was how he was able todelegate to other commanders.

He knew who the right people were,

who was going to be ideologically loyal,

who could be financially loyal.

In the wake of his assassination, yes,

a lot of these militiagroups are totally shaken up,

not just because he was killed,

there was also another leading commander

named Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis.

This is a man who was on USofficial terrorism lists,

he was a guy who wasthe official commander

of what's called the Hashd al-Shaabi.

He was the second in command,

at least that was his official title,

but he was the real power atthe head of Hashd al-Shaabi.

Losing a commander likethat for Iraqi Shia militias

really threw them into shock.

- Many wonder if,

after the Iraniangovernment's missile attack,

these Shia militiasmight act independently.

Is there any concern about that?

- There's a lot of concern about that,

and there were certainsentiments that were out there

that they may try to act on their own,

but, I mean, the more I look at it,

if you look at how they haveoperated in the past few days,

and actually in the past few months,

they understand who butters their bread,

and that's the Iranians,

and they don't want to step out of line.

But the other interestingthing is the Iranians

have also covered theirbases on this, too.

They had Sayed Hassan Nasrallah,

who is the Secretary Generalof Lebanese Hezbollah,

come out and say, oh, well,

we're going to have autonomous responses

depending on what eachnation's group wants.

That has a very powerfulpropegandistic message,

but also, it's aimed for messagingagainst the West as well.

When you look at it, it kind of reaffirms

a non-existent sentiment they have

that oh, these are nationalist groups

that are looking out for their own.

If Iraqi groups want to retaliate

for Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis,

well, they're within their right to do so.

But that's not actually how this works.

- How much of a threatdo these Shiite militias

represent to Israel?

- A massive one.

This is the tip of thespear for the Iranians

in terms of fighting the Israelis.

- What can be done todefeat these militia groups?

- I hate to be the cynichere, but very little.

You would have to really tieback to what are we doing

about the IslamicRevolutionary Guard Corps?

What are doing about the ideology?

What are we doing interms of containing Iran?

These are, and I say this all the time,

they are the spear point for the Iranians.

We talk about their nuclear weapon,

and the nuclear threatthat's coming out of Iran,

but this is the real nuclearweapon on the ground.

This is what affects change in the region.

This is what's kept dictators in power

that the Iranians have wanted,

for instance, Bashar al Assad.

It's Shia militias that supported him.

How do they control Lebanon?

Lebanese Hezbollah.

How do they cause problems for the Saudis?

The Houthis.

How do they causeproblems for the Israelis?

Through other militia proxies.

It's not going away.

They will wait for a time and place

when it works for them for responses.

They'll do things over time.

It makes sense to them,

'cause they operate on their own plane,

and if we don't respect that,

or have any understanding of it,

or just think of them as ifthey are some kind of group

that's coming out ofa Georgetown textbook,

and not respecting, kind of, the culture

that they are coming from, orfrom their line of thinking,

then it creates an even bigger problem.

You have an ideology thatties them all together,

and also, you know,they're viewing this as,

well, we're fightingalongside co-religionists

for a true cause.

I often drop this line:

It's a lot like a Hebrew National ad.

We answer to a higher power?

That's essentially how these guys work.

They actually believethey're doing the bidding

of Imam al-Mahdi onearth before he returns,

and kind of their theocraticand theological sense,

and Khamenei is leading that charge.

- Bottom line: What doAmericans need to know

about Shiite militias?

Why should they care?

- Well, they should carebecause these groups

have been consistentlythreatening the United States

and its interests in the region.

And ideologically, theyhold that the United States

needs to not only be out of the region,

but religiously speaking,

they view the United States

as what they call (speakingin foreign language),

or the Greatest Satan,and that's a true belief

that many of thehard-core ideologues hold.

And this is something that, in Tehran,

where you have Khamenei,he truly believes that.

The IRGC truly believes that.

That means they wantto take American lives

when they view it asstrategically advantageous.

So that's something we'regonna be dealing with.

- Phillip Smyth with theWashington Institute,

thank you so much for being with us.

- Thank you.

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- The new commander ofIran's elite Quds Force,

General Esmail Ghaani,

pledged to continue thepath of Qasem Soleimani

and, quote, "Bring about the global rule

"of the Hidden Imam."

Ghaani is referring to theShiites hidden, or twelfth, imam

that's a core belief of Shia Muslims.

Here's a story thatCBN's George Thomas did

about the end of the world beliefs

of many of Iran's leaders.

He did it several yearsago, during the time

of former Iranian PresidentMahmoud Ahmadinejad.

It's still clearly relevant in Iran today.

- [George] To traceAhmadinejad's messianic

and end-time beliefs, youhave to go to a mosque

in the small village of Jamkaran,

tucked in a corner of Iran.

Behind this mosque, there is a well,

and according to Ahmadinejadand millions of Shiite Muslims,

out of this well will emerge, one day,

their version of an Islamic savior.

They call him the Mahdi, or the 12th Imam.

Joel Rosenberg haswritten a book about it.

- It was believed that this Islamic leader

was gonna come back oneday at the end of time

and bring justice to the earth.

- [George] Ten of thousands of Muslims

visit the sacred well each night.

The opening of the well iscovered by a green-like metal box

to prevent people from jumping in.

Most of the time here is spent praying

and kissing the metal box.

Others scribble prayerrequests to the Mahdi

on pieces of paper that arethen dropped into the well.

Many, like this youngboy with a flashlight,

believe the Mahdi is actually hiding

at the bottom of the wellreading those prayer requests.

(speaking in foreign language)

- [Translator] I was looking into the well

with my flashlight

hoping to see the Mahdi, but not tonight.

- [George] According to Shia scholars,

the Mahdi, a descendantof the Prophet Muhammad,

vanished in the middle of the 9th Century.

- Shia Muslims expectthe 12th Imam to return

at the end of history, at the end of days,

when there's a time of great genocide,

warfare, chaos in the world.

- [George] Sunnis, whomake up the majority

of Muslims in the world, havedifferent views on the Mahdi.

For instance, they believethe Mahdi is yet to be born,

and will descend from Fatima,

the daughter of the Prophet Muhammad.

Shia Muslims believethe 12th Imam is alive,

and will reappear beforethe Day of Judgment.

Brother Waheed, a Muslimconvert to Christianity

hosts a popular television showseen across the Middle East.

- [Translator] Absolutely.

All Muslims are required tobelieve in the end times.

Despite these theological differences

between Shia and Sunnison the Islamic messiah,

belief in the last days is mandatory.

- [George] Shias andSunnis believe the end days

will be marked by apocalyptic times.

- [Translator] Justbefore the Mahdi returns,

there will be chaos throughout the world.

Wars, famines, and floodswill ravage the earth,

but when the Mahdi comes, hewill bring peace and justice.

- [George] Muslims believethat when the Mahdi returns,

he will be accompanied by Jesus Christ,

also known in Islam as the Prophet Isa.

- [Translator] They believe that Jesus

will physically return to this world.

He will kill the pigs,(speaking in foreign language),

kill the Jews, and defeat the antichrist.

- [George] But until that day comes,

Ahmadinejad, who sees himself

as a kind of John the Baptist figure,

is telling the world to prepare.

- He believes the end of time is near,

that the Islamic messiah is coming,

and the way to accelerate, or hasten,

the 12th Imam's arrivaland reign on Earth,

is to destroy Judeo-Christiancivilization as we know it.

- [George] George Thomas, CBN News.

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- Christians are among

the most persecuted religiousminority groups in Iran today,

especially those who convertfrom Islam to Christianity.

They face even more scrutiny.

Now, one television channel,

operating from multiple secret locations,

is beaming messages of hope

directly into the Islamic country.

George Thomas has the exclusive details.

- [Woman] Take one.(clapboard snapping)

(speaking in foreign language)

- [George] These are verybusy and exciting times

at Mohabat TV as itcarries out its mission

of broadcasting Christianity into Iran.

- We're seeing a huge,huge number of Iranians

who are reaching out to our channel.

- [George] Mike Ansarioversees the popular channel.

Since 2006, they've beenbeaming Christian programs

via satellite to Middle East,Europe, and parts of Asia.

But for Mohabat's cast, crew,production, and office staff,

their main focus is theIslamic nation of Iran.

- Many of our viewers thatare contacting us from Iran,

they claim that Islam

has not delivered to their expectations,

so when they turn the channelon and see Mohabat TV,

they'll hear a new message of Jesus,

of forgiveness, of love, of acceptance.

- [George] Nazanin Baghestani manages

the phone call centeroperations for the channel.

- Persians are reallythirsty for the truth.

They want to know that who isthis God that we talk about?

Who is this Jesus?

Is he real or is just a prophet.

- [George] To answer thoseand many other questions,

the channel has deployedFarsi-speaking Christian counselors

in different time zones around the world.

Baghestani says they take, on average,

between 8,000 and 10,000calls a month from Iranians.

- That's when we open the subject,

we preach the Gospel, andso many give their heart,

so many receive Him.

- But producing Christianprograms for Iran

is not without its challenges.

You see, the bulk of Ansari'sproductions for the channel

are done outside of Iran frommultiple secret locations

for safety and security reasons.

- Our channel and our signals

are getting jammed on a daily basis.

It is true that the phonecalls are being monitored

and people who try to contact us

may get persecuted from time to time.

- [George] In June 2011,a Christian man's house

got raided by Iranian authorities

as he was on the phonewith a Mohabat counselor.

(speaking in foreign language)

This is an audio recordingof the conversation

between the phone counselor

and a member of the Iranian Secret Police

as he tells the story of what happened

when he broke into the house.

It has never been releasedto the public until now,

exclusively on CBN News.

(speaking in foreign language)

The young Christian manwas reportedly killed

shortly after the conversation,

but Ansari says the threatsare not stopping Iranians

from watching the channel,

which provides 24-hourChristian programming.

- You remember, in Iran, thereis no such thing as a church

as you and I know outside of Iran,

so many Iranians who are curious,

they find it easier, moreprivate and more safe,

to be at home, at their own home,

at the comfort of theirhome, watching the channel.

(speaking in foreign language)

- [George] The officialreligion of Iran is Islam.

Christians are officially

less than half of onepercent of the population.

The overwhelming majority are Muslim.

Christians are routinely imprisoned

and labeled as threatsto national security.

Open Doors, a group that has served

the persecuted church for decades,

has ranked Iran number nineon its list of 50 countries

where persecution ofChristians is most severe.

- We have programming on the channel

that is geared just towards that

to give 'em hope and encourage them,

and yet tell them that,you know, persecution

is definitely a partof a Christian's life.

When you become a Christian

and you reside in a country

that is not predominantly Christian.

We really don't want to see any of them

jeopardized or being persecuted,

so we always tell them to act with wisdom

and be wise about their new faith

and the way the approach others.

- [Man] In the name of the Father,

the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

- [George] The harshtreatment of Christians

is reportedly fueling theflames of church growth.

- [Mike] We're seeinga new season right now.

There are so many people

who are reaching out on their own account.

It seems that they're not afraid.

They just want to reach out and go beyond

any kind of authority or limitation

that may exist locally for them,

to just connect to somebodythat they could relate to.

- [George] Ansari, a native of Iran,

is encouraging Christiansworldwide to pray for Iran.

- Our goal is just to be out there

and just tell them thatthere is another choice.

You know, the Prophet Jesus,

whom they know very well through Islam,

He's more than a prophet.

That believing in Him canbring a sense of hope.

- [George] George Thomas, CBN News.

- Well, that's one ofthe good news stories

coming out of Iran.

If you would like to know moreabout the spiritual revivals,

and the geo-politics of the Middle East,

please join me later thisyear from June 12 to the 20th

for an exclusive tour

called Israel Throughthe Eyes of a Reporter.

If you'd like to know more,

you can go toNoseworthyTravel.com/ChrisMitchell2020,

or call 800-929-4684.

Well, that's all for thisedition of Jerusalem Dateline.

Thanks for joining us.

Remember, you can follow us

on Facebook, Twitter,Instagram, or YouTube.

I'm Chris Mitchell,we'll see you next time

on Jerusalem Dateline.(dramatic cinematic music)