BRICS - Iran, China, and Russia Conduct Naval Drills
Warships from Iran, China and Russia kicked off their annual joint exercises in the Gulf of Oman, showing off their military ties as US President Donald Trump upends longstanding Western alliances.
The “Security Belt-2025” drills, taking place near the Iranian port of Chabahar, is the fifth joint naval exercise Iran, China and Russia have held since 2019, according to Chinese state media.
Analysts have long seen the drills as a demonstration of the growing partnership among the three authoritarian powers as they seek to counterbalance US influence and challenge the Western-led global order.
The Gulf of Oman is a crucial gateway connecting the Indian Ocean and the Strait of Hormuz, through which more than one-quarter of the world’s seaborne traded oil passes.
-www.cnn.com, 10 March 2025
Arno's Commentary
While BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) is a somewhat loosely connected movement, one must notice this strange and new composition.
BRICS is extremely diverse: Brazil is the world’s largest Catholic country. Russia is estimated to be about 61.8% Orthodox Christian, with 21.2% non-religious, and 9.5% Muslim (Wikipedia). India is an extremely religious country, and China is officially atheist. And participating in this annual joint naval drill is Iran, a fanatically Islamic nation.
As the article states, it is a demonstration against the Western alliance. In the meantime, several countries have been added to the BRICS group, with a number of others wanting to join.
From a Biblical view, this is not alarming; it’s simply part of Jesus’ prophetic statement, “ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars” (Matthew 24:6a).
What we see as significant is that the Trump administration seems to distance itself from European allies, which in turn forces Europe to significantly increase their cooperation and military spending. That is a major development, because Europe represents Rome, the last Gentile global power.
Daniel identifies Rome as “the fourth kingdom [that] shall be strong as iron: forasmuch as iron breaketh in pieces and subdueth all things: and as iron that breaketh all these, shall it break in pieces and bruise” (Daniel 2:40).
In summary, the West will be weakened, the East will be strengthened, but in the center lies Europe. It is the continent that at one time subdued all others. Yet in the end, Daniel declares: “And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever” (Daniel 2:44). The last global kingdom will be Israel, when Jesus returns as King of kings and Lord of lords.
Arno Froese is the executive director of Midnight Call Ministries and editor-in-chief of the acclaimed prophetic magazines Midnight Call and News From Israel. He has authored a number of well-received books, and has sponsored many prophecy conferences in the U.S., Canada, and Israel. His extensive travels have contributed to his keen insight into Bible prophecy, as he sees it from an international perspective.
