Possibly to counter Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s offensive against lifting sanctions against Iran for what he considers to be insufficient nuclear concessions, Iran’s ‘Supreme Leader’ issued some warnings of his own:

Iran’s Khamenei rejects Trump offer of talks, denies US destroyed Iranian nuclear capabilities
October 20, 2025
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Monday rejected an offer of renewed talks from U.S. President Donald Trump and denied his assertion that the United States has destroyed Iran‘s nuclear capabilities.
Tehran and Washington engaged in five rounds of indirect nuclear negotiations that ended with the 12-day air war in June in which Israel and the U.S. bombed Iranian nuclear sites.
“Trump says he is a dealmaker, but if a deal is accompanied by coercion and its outcome is predetermined, it is not a deal but rather an imposition and bullying,” Khamenei said according to state media.
Last week, Trump told the Israeli parliament that it would be great if Washington could negotiate a “peace deal” with Tehran, following the start of a ceasefire in Gaza between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas. https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/khamenei-tells-trump-keep-dreaming-he-destroyed-irans-nuclear-capabilities-2025-10-20/
October 20, 2025
“The U.S. president proudly says they bombed and destroyed Iran’s nuclear industry. Very well, keep dreaming!” Khamenei said on X. https://www.newsmax.com/newsfront/khamenei-trump-iran-nukes/2025/10/20/id/1231044/

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s comments are not a surprise as many analysts concluded that the USA’s bombing of Iranian nuclear facilities earlier this year did not totally destroy Iran’s nuclear programs.

So, why the comments from the Ayatollah now?

Probably for several reasons.

Maybe the main one, which I posted about yesterday (see Iran, Russia, and China declare the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action nuclear deal is dead), is that Iran believes that its commitment to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, which the Obama Administration helped negotiate, expired on Saturday.

Might Iran wish to develop nuclear bombs?

Yes. Here is something that was posted here back in 2012:

According to an internal U.N. document, Khamenei embraced the concept of an Iranian nuclear bomb during a meeting of the country’s top leadership more than two decades ago, saying nuclear weapons were essential for preserving Iran’s Islamic Revolution.
The 2009 document, prepared for the International Atomic Energy Agency, is a collection of statements made by Iranian leaders about nuclear weapons, as gleaned from the nuclear watchdog’s intelligence sources. It cites an April 1984 meeting in which Khamenei allegedly endorsed a decision by then-leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini to launch a secret nuclear weapons program.
“According to Ayatollah Khamenei, this was the only way to secure the very essence of the Islamic Revolution from the schemes of its enemies … and to prepare it for the emergence of Imam Mahdi,” states the IAEA document, which was obtained by the Institute for Science and International Security, a Washington-based nonprofit group that analyzes nuclear weapons programs. In Shiite Islam, “Imam Mahdi” is the prophesied 12th Imam who will purge the world of evil in humanity’s last days http://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2012/04/hillary_clinton_embraces_fake_fatwa.html#ixzz1szDxw5pH

The above shows that Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei endorsed getting nuclear weapons to help set the way for a leader commonly referred to as the Imam Mahdi to arrive.

Though a more significant Islamic power will rise up for a short while in the 21st century, this power will not not be Iranian and will not last (Daniel 11:40-43). Ayatollah Khamenei should consider more of what the Bible says, as Iran is not going to be the primary instrument to truly make that happen.

Yet, also ignoring certain portions of scripture, one of Iran’s presidents publicly stated that the purpose of the Iranian revolution was to prepare the way for an Islamic leader, the Imam Mahdi, also called the the 12th Imam, to rise up (this was over a decade ago). This Imam Mahdi sounds a lot like the final King of the South that the Bible warns against (though the actual one that many Shi’ites expect from “suspended animation” is not likely to be that King, but a Mahdi belief will likely be a factor in getting the final King of the South). A few years back, Iran’s former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad claimed that it was the Imam Mahdi who was behind the revolutions in the various Arab lands as well as other events in the world (see Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: World Order About to Collapse, Mahdi Behind it).

Until the King of the South finally rises up, I would not be surprised if Iran, Hezbollah, and Syria get together to cause additional trouble (including possible war) with Israel as a means of hoping to provoke the rise of the Imam Mahdi, consistent with the following:

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. (Isaiah 22:1-14 NKJV)

Elam seems to be a reference to at least some in Iran. The old Worldwide Church of God published the following:

Iranians comprise nearly 70 percent of the country. Iranians, though Islamic, are totally distinct from the neighboring Arab peoples of the Middle East. They are a mixed people of the remnants of Media and Elam and other ancestors of Semitic and Hamitic stock. (Stump K. South Asia in Prophecy. Plain Truth, July/August 1986, p. 5)

Kir is of interest as it has several possibilities. One is that the Bible tells that after Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria took over Damascus, he moved Syrians to Kir. While this does not mean that Kir must (or must only) be a reference to Syria, the fact that Syria is an ally of Iran is interesting. Some believe Kir is an area in the south of Iran, while others suggest closer to the Black Sea. God’s word has the expression “the Syrians from Kir” (Amos 9:7), which is basically confirmation that Kir of Isaiah 22 would include Syrians. The Bible also tells of a time when Kir will be destroyed (Isaiah 15:1b) and also says that Syria’s capital Damascus will be destroyed (Isaiah 17:1).

In Isaiah 22: 8, “Judah” is a reference to those in the land commonly called Israel–God will allow Israel to be attacked! In Isaiah 22:9, consider that “the damage to the city of David” is a reference to at least part of Jerusalem–and notice that the damage will be great. A nuclear bomb dropped by Iran that hits Jerusalem may be the way that Isaiah 22:6-8 will be fulfilled.

A nuclear-armed Iran, or an Iran that Israel suspects is about to be nuclear-armed, could trigger a massive regional conflict that could have major ramifications.

Some items of related interest may include:

Iran in Prophecy Is Iran in Bible prophecy? If so, what does the Bible teach? What names, other than Persia, may be used to describe Iran? There is also a YouTube video titled Iran in Prophecy. Here are links to two related videos Iran In Prophecy and Iran and Israel Conflict.
Islamic and Biblical Prophecies for the 21st Century This is a free online book which helps show where biblical and Islamic prophecies converge and diverge. Here are links to related sermons: Seeing Christianity Through Islamic Eyes, Imam Mahdi, women, and prophecy, and Terrorism, Iran, and Fatima, Dajjal, Antichrist, Gold, & Mark of the Beast?, and Jesus and God’s Plan for Muslims. Here is a link to a sermon in the Spanish language: El Imám Mahdi las mujeres y la profecía bíblica. Here is a link to the book in Spanish: Profecías islámicas y bíblicas para el Siglo 21°.
Donald Trump in Prophecy Prophecy, Donald Trump? Are there prophecies that Donald Trump may fulfill? Are there any prophecies that he has already helped fulfill? Is a Donald Trump presidency proving to be apocalyptic? Three related videos are available: Donald: ‘Trump of God’ or Apocalyptic? and Donald Trump’s Prophetic Presidency and Donald Trump and Unintended Consequences.
Unintended Consequences and Donald Trump’s Presidency: Is Donald Trump Fulfilling Biblical, Islamic, Greco-Roman Catholic, Buddhist, and other America-Related Prophecies? Is Donald Trump going to save the USA or are there going to be many disastrous unintended consequences of his statements and policies? What will happen? The is a free eBook.
Lost Tribes and Prophecies: What will happen to Australia, the British Isles, Canada, Europe, New Zealand and the United States of America? Where did those people come from? Can you totally rely on DNA? What about other peoples? Do you really know what will happen to Europe and the English-speaking peoples? What about Africa, Asia, South America, and the Islands? This free online book provides scriptural, scientific, historical references, and commentary to address those matters. Here are links to related sermons: Lost tribes, the Bible, and DNA; Lost tribes, prophecies, and identifications; 11 Tribes, 144,000, and Multitudes; Israel, Jeremiah, Tea Tephi, and British Royalty; Gentile European Beast; Royal Succession, Samaria, and Prophecies; Asia, Islands, Latin America, Africa, and Armageddon; When Will the End of the Age Come?; Rise of the Prophesied King of the North; Christian Persecution from the Beast; WWIII and the Coming New World Order; and Woes, WWIV, and the Good News of the Kingdom of God.