(horn blaring)

- This week on "Jerusalem Dateline."

Ominous signs in the Middle East,

Iran's new hard linepresident is inaugurated

amidst warnings thatIran is just weeks away

from a nuclear breakout.

Rocket fire from Lebanon provokesa tough Israeli response.

And Jerusalem archeologists

discover evidence of agiant Biblical earthquake.

All they some more this weekon "Jerusalem Dateline."

(upbeat music)

Hello and welcome to this edition

of "Jerusalem Dateline."I'm Chris Mitchell.

Ominous signs in the Middle East

as Israel's defense minister warns

Tehran is just weeks away

from acquiring weapons grade material

needed for a nuclear weapon.

CBN Middle East correspondent,Julie Stahl tells us

that disturbing development comes

as the US and Israel blameIran for recent attacks at sea.

And the country has a new president,

a man who has been sanctionedfor murdering his own people.

- [Julie] Ibrahim Raisi takesover as the eighth president

of the Islamic regime.

(speaking in foreign language)

- [Interpreter] The sanctions imposed

against the Iranian nation must be lifted.

We will support any diplomaticplan that supports this goal.

- [Julie] Raisi spoke athis swearing in ceremony

where he touted his country

as the true defenders of human rights

and a force for peace in the region.

- [Interpreter] Iran'sregional capacities,

back peace and stability in countries,

and will only be used to confront threats

of domineering and tyrant powers.

- [Julie] Raisi is considered a hardliner,

a carbon copy of religiousleader, Ayatollah Khamenei

and the first Iranian president

to be sanctioned by the USeven before taking office.

- Ibrahim Raisi is called thebutcher of Tehran, actually,

because he has a long track record

of killing his own people,going back to 1988.

You can say that he's probably responsible

for at least 10,000Iranians being executed.

- [Julie] Len Khodorkovsky

a former senior advisorto the US Envoy for Iran

says, although the Ayatollahis the ultimate decision maker,

Raisi won't give up much

in talks to reinstatethe Iranian nuclear deal

officially known as the JCPOA.

- We can expect them to play hardball

and we're seeing themplaying hardball right now,

through their attacks on our interests,

through the attacks onan Israeli owned ship,

just a few days ago.

- [Julie] Khodorkovsky says

it's the Iranian negotiating style.

- What they're sensing isthat the Biden administration

is signaling weakness.

They're seeing that there's no price

that they have to pay aftereach of these attacks.

And in return, insteadof playing hardball,

the Biden administration makesmore and more concessions.

- [Julie] Israel, the USand UK are blaming Iran

for the attack on theIsraeli operated oil tanker

called Mercer Street thatleft two Europeans dead.

Iran denies its involvement.

Israel is trying to rallyinternational support

for sanctions against Iran,

but some 70 countriesin the European union

attended Raisi's inauguration.

Israeli Prime MinisterNaftali Bennett said,

they shouldn't be there.

(speaking in foreign language)

- [Interpreter] Raisi is themost Iranian president so far.

And the competition is tough.

I call on the European union,

one cannot talk about human rights

and at the same time pay homageto a murderer and a hang man

who has eliminated hundredsof opponents of the regime.

- [Julie] Israels DefenseMinister Benny Gantz

and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid

briefed ambassadors from UNSecurity Council member states

on Iran's involvement inthe Mercer ship attack,

and it's a nuclear plans.

"Iran has violated all of theguidelines set in the JCPOA

"and is only around 10 weeks

"from acquiring weapons grade materials

"necessary for a nuclear weapon.

"Therefore, it is time to act.

"The world must apply economic sanctions

"and take operative action

"against the IslamicRevolutionary Guard Corps."

(speaking in foreign language)

- [Interpreter] TheIranians need to understand

that it is impossible tosit peacefully in Tehran

And from there ignitethe entire Middle East,

that is over.

- [Julie] Israel has longsaid it will not allow Iran

to get nuclear weapons,

and now that it seemsthe clock is ticking,

Israel will have to decidehow far it will go to stop it.

Julie Stahl, CBN News, Jerusalem.

- Now more on that attackof an Israeli managed ship

off the coast of Oman.

The attack represents the latest incident

in a period many are callingthe war between wars.

Israel says in Iranian suicidedrone armed with explosives

hit the Mercer Street ship

killing its Romanian captainand a British security officer.

An Israeli owned companymanages the vessel.

And on Sunday Israeli PrimeMinister, Naftali Bennett

warned Iran.

(speaking in foreign language)

- [Interpreter] So Istate here, absolutely,

Iran is the one thatcarried out the attack

against the ship.

Iran's aggressive behavior is dangerous,

not only for Israel,

but also harms international interests,

the freedom of navigationand the international trade.

The intelligence evidence for this exists,

and we expect the international system

to make it clear to the Iranian regime

that they have made a grave mistake.

In any case, we know how toconvey the message to Iran

in our own way.

- [Chris] In a statement

US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken

blamed Iran for the attack and stated,

"We are working with our partners

"to consider our next steps

"and consulting with governments

"inside the region and beyondon an appropriate response,

"which will be forthcoming."

While Iran denied responsibility,

the attack is the latest ina series of strikes at sea,

between Iran and Israel.

In the meantime, Ibrahim Raisi

will be sworn in as Iran'snew president on Thursday.

Called the Hangman of Tehran

for his involvement in thedeath of thousands of Iranians,

it remains to be seenwhat impact he will have

on negotiations over the renewal

of the Iranian nuclear deal.

Talks had been suspendedfor the past six weeks.

US Secretary Blinken says,

the delay can't go on forever.

- The ball remains in an Iran's court.

And we will see if they're prepared

to make the decisions necessary

to come back into compliance.

We are committed to diplomacy,

but this process cannotgo on indefinitely.

- Hezbollah fired at least 19 rockets

at Israel's Golan Heights.

Most of them were intercepted

by Israel's anti-missile system.

The Iranian proxy saidit was in retaliation

for Israeli air strikes inLebanon a few days earlier.

Israeli fighter jetshit rocket launch sites,

inside Southern Lebanon,

after those rocketswere fired from Lebanon

into Northern Israel.

The first rocket attack cameon the first anniversary

of the massive explosionthat rocked Beirut.

The Israel Defense Forcesreleased this footage

of its attack on rocketlaunch sites in Lebanon.

Two rockets struck inside Israel,

one rocket hit an openarea near Kiryat Shmona,

a community of about 20,000.

And then another was intercepted

by the iron domeanti-missile defense system.

Observers believe a Palestiniangroup launched the rockets,

but the Israel DefenseForces warned Lebanon,

it would be heldresponsible for any attacks

from its territory.

The attacks came asseveral thousand Lebanese

marked the one year anniversary

of the horrific explosionat Beirut's port.

The head of Lebanon'sMaronite Catholic Church

called for accountabilityfor the explosion.

(speaking in foreign language)

- [Interpreter] We're hereto demand truth and justice.

This land will remain a stain

until we know what happenedin the Beirut port.

(explosion blasting)

- [Chris] The catastrophicblast tore through the city

and accelerated Lebanon'sdescent into a failed state,

the worst crisis some saysince the 19th century.

Lebanon suffers from fuelshortages, power blackouts,

lack of medical suppliesand a financial crisis

where the currency haslost most of its value.

The country hasn't had afunctioning government for months,

many blame a corruptdysfunctional political class

for the crisis.

The other culprit, some say

is the Islamic terrorist group Hezbollah,

which is supported by Iran.

This Lebanese journalist called Hezbollah,

an occupying force of Iran

and blame the terror group

for destroying what was once called

the Switzerland of the Middle East.

(speaking in foreign language)

- [Interpreter] Lebanon usedto be the hospital of the East,

the university of the East,the school of the East

and the bank of the East.

Hezbollah has destroyed everything.

We no longer have hospitals,

our hospitals are being shutdown because they have no fuel.

All the university professorsimmigrate from this country.

- [Chris] With Lebanonon the verge of collapse,

Middle East analysts Jacques Neriah,

believes the country could be ripe

for a takeover by Hezbollah.

- I think that the only ones

who will be the winners are Hezbollah,

because economically, financiallythey're best organized

and they're assisted by Iran

who just sends millionsof dollars to Hezbollah.

And Hezbollah has alreadycreated a parallel state

and it will take no timefor Hezbollah to take over,

if such an instructionis given by the Tehran.

- [Chris] The fall of Lebanon

would have disastrous consequences

for Israel and the Middle East,

including more attacks and warfare

against the Jewish state in the future,

and giving Iran more power in the region.

(upbeat music)

Coming up, can Iranian protestors

throughout the Islamic Republic,

bring down the regime.

(upbeat music)

- It is the most importantarcheological site,

nevertheless it has never been excavated.

- [Narrator] An almost impossible task.

- Temple Mount was thelargest religious compound

in the ancient world.

- [Man] Is the most politicized

piece of real estate in the world.

- [Narrator] Leads to an improbable find.

- There is an ancientroad, also 2000 years old.

- [Man] That is the building,which is referred to

in the new Testament.

- [Narrator] That is confirmingthe stories of the Bible.

- Where the Jesus walk?

There's no question, Hewalked on these steps.

- You can see it,

here's no way to refute that they existed.

They walked here, they talked here.

- [Narrator] See the evidenceleft by an ancient witness.

- He lived there, he sawit, he knew the details.

- It's like the crown of our discoveries.

- [Man] May cause arewriting of the history

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(upbeat music)

- Len Khodorkovsky

is a former seniorstate department advisor

to the US Envoy for Iran.

I spoke with him in our Jerusalem studio

about the current situation inside Iran.

Len Khodorkovsky thanks for joining us

on "Jerusalem Dateline."

- Thanks so much for having me.

- In the last couple ofweeks we've seen protests

that started in one province

that has spread todifferent parts of Iran.

How significant arethose protests right now?

- It's hard to say what is going to be

the last straw that breaks the regime.

You had a buildup of protestsover various decades.

They've ramped up overthe Trump Administration.

In fact, in November, 2019,

the protests in Iran

were probably the mostsignificant pressure

on the regime internally since 1979.

The regime ended upmassacring 1500 Iranians

and turning off the internet.

This is the playbook thatthey're using right now as well.

People were out protesting

because they're thirsty.

The regime is so corrupt and inept

that it has basicallytaken a country that's rich

and has plenty of resourcesand made it a desert.

Unlike Israel may have point out,

which has created water out of a desert.

What you're seeing is,

again, intermittentpressure from the people

who were going out.

The regime no longer haslegitimacy among its population.

And the only way itcontrols the population

is through brute strength

or by turning off the internet,

therefore trying to prevent the messages

to go out to the free world,

but they can't control it,

we're seeing images out of there,

we're seeing socialmedia being very active.

There's reporting going on.

Whether it is a mortalthreat to the regime,

it's hard to tell,

but I'm confident thatthe regime has deaths

to end up on the ash heap of history,

whether it's tomorrow or nextyear or five years from now.

- We've talked before about something

you mentioned the UAE, Saudi Arabia,

the new Abraham Accords,

potentially Saudi Arabia willcome and be part of that.

But you also talked about something called

the Cyrus Accords.

What are they?

- Cyrus Accords is a concept

based on 2,500 years of friendship

between Jewish people and Persian people,

going back to Cyrus The Great,

who was a great Persian king,

who liberated the Jews from Babylonia,

allowed them to come to Jerusalem

and helped them build a second temple.

So there's a long history of friendship.

And the last 40 yearsof the Islamic Republic

is just a historic anomaly.

So we foresee a time when wecan recapture that friendship

and allow people of Iranand people of Israel

and the United States to create a peace

that will reinvent theway the Middle East works.

Because if you're tryingto solve the Middle East,

you have to solve Iran,

and in order to solve Iran,

I think you have to empower the people

to see the benefits ofwhat that could look like.

- Final question Len,what can the West do?

What can the US do tofacilitate freedom in Iran?

- Number one, we need tobe supportive vocally.

So my personal story,

I came from the SovietUnion during the Cold War,

I came to America

and one of the thingsthat was really important

for dissidence in the Soviet Union,

is hearing President Reaganbe very forceful vocally

in standing with dissidencein the Soviet Union.

When Natan Sharansky,

who is now an Israeli

a member of various administrations here.

When he was a Soviet dissident in prison,

he used President Reagan'sand other Americans support

for the Russian dissidents

as strength to helpthem survive in prison.

So, number one, we need to be vocal

and support the Iranian people

and recognize that the Iranian people

are not the same as theregime, that rules over them.

Number two, there're practical things

that we can do that we'vedone from the American side,

during the protest a coupleof years ago, for example,

we helped Iranians bypassthe censorship of the regime.

There are any number of programs,

both overt and covert thathelp Iranians practically.

So I would call in our European allies,

I would call an all of our allies

to look at ways to do that.

And finally I would say,

the way to change the regime's behavior

is to put more pressure on it,

which is the opposite ofwhat's happening right now.

And it would be much more helpful

if our allies joined us in thatpressure to deny the regime,

the resources to causeterrorism around the world,

to develop missile technology,to kill its own people,

to assassinate people around the globe.

Remember the state department

has declared around the topstate sponsor of terrorism

for about four decades now.

- Well, a lot of people arehoping and praying for that,

Len Khodorkovsky, thanks for joining us.

- Thanks so much.(upbeat music)

- [Chris] Up next, "Dare to Believe,"

a new book about whatChristians in the Middle East

have endured during the last few years.

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(upbeat music)

- Christians in the Middle East

have been through a lot overthe last couple of years.

Like much of the world,

they endured the pandemic.

On top of that four elections

in two years in Israel and a war.

CBN's Wendy Griffith talked with one man

who's lived in the midst of it

and is telling their stories of faith

in his new book, "Dare To Believe."

- Terry tell us about yournew book, "Dare to Believe."

Give us a quick version of oneof the stories in your book.

- Oh gosh, so many.

It's three stories in one really.

One is my own story of nearly 50 years

living and working in the Middle East,

in Lebanon and Egypt and other countries.

It's also the story of a very courageous,

but unheard about church

and the stories of individualsthat have given their lives

for the sake of the gospelin these different countries.

And I'm sure anybody reading

cannot but be totallyinspired by these stories.

And it's also the story of SAT-7,

the struggles of getting started

and broadcasting just two hoursa week to start with in 1996

and expanding to four full-time channels,

broadcasting Arabic andTurkish and Farsi for Iran

and having a 24 hour kids channel

broadcasting across the Middle East.

- And SAT-7 is still going strong, right?

- Very strong, thank you.

Yes.- And where are you located?

- Well, the headquarters' in Cyprus,

but we have studios in Egypt,Turkey, Lebanon, London,

where we do a lot of workfor the Iranian channel

because we're not ableat the moment at least

to produce anything in country there,

of course in Iran.

- Terry, tell us, whatdo you see God doing

in the church in the Middle East?

- Gosh, yeah,

there's been so much changeover the time I've lived here.

We had no internet, no cell phones,

nothing when we started

and now we have allthis amazing technology

that we can communicate withpeople online and so on,

but God is really movingin people's lives,

especially in the very difficult place.

Iran has, perhaps thefastest growing church

in the world today,

with well over a million new believers

that are basically meeting in homes.

It's an undergroundchurch because since 2011,

there's not been anyFarsi language churches

permitted to meet

only traditional Armenianchurches and so on,

have been able to continue.

Algeria is another amazingstory of a fast growing church

in the face of manydifficulties and challenges.

But the book is full of really stories

of courageous believersthat have done so much

to further the faith of Christ

and bring an understandingof the Christian Gospel

to those around them.

- It sounds fascinating,I can't wait to read it.

What do you want believers

or what do you want people to take away

from your book once they've read it?

- I think most importantly

to understand there isa Christian community

in these countries, Turkey,Iran the Arab world,

some of them date theirchurches right back

to the apostles.

And they've got 2000 years

of sometimes incredible witness

and survived persecution underRome, under Muslim invaders.

And it's a story thatpeople just aren't aware of.

We think the church has been exterminated

in the Middle East, butreally it's alive and well,

and carrying on that 2000 years

of Christian presence and witness.

- It's amazing.

Well, how can folks get acopy of "Dare To Believe."

- Well, it's availableon Amazon as a Kindle

or Softback or paperback version,

or you can go to my ownwebsite for more information

and that's just terrenceascott.com.

That's T-E-R-E-N-C-E-A-S-C-O-T-T.com.

- Well, you've certainly seen

a lot of change in theMiddle East in your lifetime,

and it's not over Terry Ascott author of

"Dare To Believe."

Thanks for bringing usthese powerful stories

of what God is doing inthe lives of Christians

in the Middle East.

We appreciate your time.

- Thank you so much.

(upbeat music)

- Still ahead, a biblicalearthquake uncovered in Jerusalem.

Thank you for watching"Jerusalem Dateline."

We're committed to providingyou with unbiased reporting

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- Chris and Joy have gone back in time,

but I do not know where.

- [Announcer] From "Superbook."

- Let me tell you how this topple started.

- Hi.

- [Gizmo] Pastor Aaron invitedChris to be group leader

at the very next Bible study meeting.

- I didn't volunteer to run the meeting.

- That's when everythingwent (talking gibberish)

- The heroes of my hollownine games are more today,

you know, so-

(all chattering)

- Superbook left with only Chris and Joy.

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- It's seem Superbookhas dropped me and Chris

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- This mission callsfor our very best spies.

- Reporting for duty, sir.

- Let us have the men whoare staying at your house.

- You mean them?

- Don't play games with me, Rahab.

- [Gizmo] I thought I knewwhat it takes to be a hero.

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(upbeat music)

- Archeologists excavating here

uncovered what they believe is evidence

of the destruction of a massive earthquake

from 2,800 years ago,

that's mentioned in the Bible.

Take a look at what theyfound in the city of David

in this video from theIsraeli Antiquities Authority.

- We are here on the Eastern slopes

of the City of David National Park,

where excavations have beenexposing amazing remains

dating back to the first temple period.

To my left is thefortification of the city

dating to the first temple period

and to my right a series of buildings,

which we have been exposing,

which were originally constructedin the 8th century BCE

and continued to exist

until the Babyloniandestruction in 586 BC.

Very surprisingly, when weexpose the earliest remains

within this building,

we found a row of vessels.

And from what we know historically,

Jerusalem was notdestroyed in this period.

We began to try and think of what could be

behind this destruction.

And we found ourselveslooking at the first verse

in the Book of Amos,

which mentions an earthquake.

Remains of destructionsfrom this earthquake

were exposed in various sites in Israel.

But this is the first time

where we find remains in Jerusalem,

which could be related to that earthquake.

(speaking in foreign language)

- [Interpreter] Theearthquake was so strong

that the people that came to live here

built on top of the destruction,

which enabled us to discoverall of these beautiful finds,

very small service vesselsthat were used to store liquids

and very large ones,

one with unique handles shaped as a face.

The people of Judah didn'tforget this earthquake

and even 200 years later,

the prophet Zechariah mentioned it.

- If this is in factrelated to the earthquake

mentioned in Amos,

this is the first time where such remains

have been found in Jerusalemrelating to the earthquake

that was noted in the Biblical text.

- Well, that's moreevidence of how archeology

is validating the Bible

and the Jewish connectionto the land of the Bible.

Well, that's all for this edition.

Thanks for joining us.

Remember, you can followus on Facebook, Twitter,

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I'm Chris Mitchell.

We'll see you next timeon "Jerusalem Dateline."

(upbeat music)