UAE Cuts All Trade With Iran After Missile Attacks; Netanyahu Warns Turkey Against Entrenchment in Syria

August Rain in Israel, Iran's Blockade & Birth Pains Getting Worse

UAE Suspends All Trade and Financial Transactions With Iran After Attacks

Widening Siege: UAE Trade Cutoff Deals New Blow to Iran's Struggling Economy

Netanyahu Warns Turkey Against Entrenchment in Syria as Mossad Chief Holds Rare Call With Damascus

Experts: Israel's Strike in Syria Was Necessary to Avoid a Direct Clash With Turkey

WATCH: Ma Navu (How Beautiful) | Barry and Batya Segal Music

Ma Navu (How Beautiful) | Barry and Batya Segal Music

After 44 Years, Remains of IDF Soldier Yehuda Katz Are Returned to Israel

Attorney General: Israel Must Strengthen Enforcement Against Draft Evaders, Over 80% of Whom Are Haredim

FBI: Jews Accounted for 64% of All US Religion-Based Hate Crimes in 2025

Israel Wins Marathon Team Gold at the European Athletics Championships

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VFI News Final | VFI News | Vision for Israel

August rain in Israel, global crop failures, and Iran's blockade tightening — this week's VFI News covers the headlines you need to understand and the scripture that puts it all in context.

This week on VFI News, we cover a packed and prophetically significant set of headlines — from Israel's unusual August rainfall and what the super El Niño means for the Holy Land, to global crop failures that could trigger serious food shortages in the months ahead.

We also look at Iran's ongoing standoff in the Strait of Hormuz, the IDF's heightened activity on the Lebanese border with Hezbollah, and Israel's aid delegation to Colombia following a devastating earthquake. Plus, good news and bad news on Israel's economy.

And through it all, we come back to the words of Romans 8:22 and Matthew 24:8 — because the birth pains are real, they're intensifying, and they point to something far greater on the horizon.

We also want to highlight Vision for Israel's current school supplies campaign. For just $45, you can equip a child in need with a backpack and essentials for the new school year. Visit visionforisrael.com to give today.

0:00 Welcome & Prayer for Global Disasters

4:20 Super El Niño — What It Means for Israel & the World

9:45 Global Crop Failures & the Case for Victory Gardens

15:30 Birth Pains: Romans 8:22 & Matthew 24

25:00 IDF & Hezbollah: Heightened Activity in Lebanon

33:00 Economy Update & VFI School Supplies Campaign

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#Israel #MiddleEast #BibleProphecy #Iran #EndTimes

The United Arab Emirates has suspended all trade, commercial exchange, and financial transactions with Iran after the Islamic Republic attacked a number of UAE-owned tankers and rejected new talks with the United States, the UAE's Foreign Ministry announced. The decision marks a sharp escalation in the Gulf state's response to months of Iranian aggression across the region.

Shortly before UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs Director of Strategic Communications Afra Al Hameli delivered the statement, Iran fired two missiles toward the Emirates. One fell within the country's territorial waters, while the second landed outside its territory. Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei denied on Tuesday, August 18, that Iran was behind the launches, claiming that the allegation "runs counter to the principle of good-neighborliness" and undermines efforts to strengthen trust among regional countries.

Despite the denial, the Islamic Republic has launched numerous attacks on countries across the Middle East since February 28, when the United States and Israel struck the Islamic regime, and at least a dozen people have been killed in the UAE during the conflict, with more than 200 wounded. "The United Arab Emirates rejects all claims regarding the status of its economic relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran, while reaffirming its steadfast commitment to dialogue, co-operation and regional integration as essential means to enhance peace, stability, and prosperity in the region," Hameli stated.

"Dear Lord, we pray in Yeshua's Name that You restrain every scheme of the Iranian regime and protect all the innocent people of the region from its missiles and terror. We ask You to strengthen the nations that are standing up to aggression and to bring the leaders of Iran to repentance or remove them from power. Please guard Israel and her neighbors, and establish true peace and security throughout the Middle East."

The United Arab Emirates' announcement that it is severing all trade ties with Iran, following a missile attack Abu Dhabi says was launched against it by the ayatollahs' regime, has tightened the economic siege closing in on Tehran. The Islamic Republic is already under an American blockade and mired in a severe economic crisis, which US President Donald Trump has vowed to deepen with new sanctions designed to pressure Tehran into accepting his terms for ending the war.

Abu Dhabi's announcement came hours after a phone call between Trump and UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed, though it remains unclear whether the United States was involved in the move. The UAE, like several of its Gulf neighbors, came under numerous missile and drone attacks during the war, as well as during exchanges of fire between the United States and Iran in the months following the first ceasefire in April, and it is generally considered to take a tougher, more hawkish line toward Tehran than its neighbors.

Since the beginning of August, Abu Dhabi has reported at least four Iranian attacks on its oil tankers as they attempted to cross the Strait of Hormuz despite Iran's declared "ban" on passage through the waterway. No alarms had sounded in the UAE itself for a month and a half until two missiles were fired at unspecified maritime targets and landed in the waters of the Persian Gulf. The launches came amid a deadlock in negotiations between Iran and the United States, with senior officials in Tehran threatening escalation if the American blockade is not lifted. Tehran denied firing the missiles; the UAE rejected the denial and announced the suspension of all trade, exchange, and financial transactions with Iran.

Mossad chief Roman Gofman held a phone call with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani on Friday, August 14, during which the two discussed Turkey's military presence in Syria. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed Israel's strike in Syria directly: "We will not tolerate a Turkish military entrenchment in Syria that threatens Israel. We made the message very clear: Don't. Apparently they did not hear it clearly enough, so we made sure they understood it better."

The call took place four days before Israel struck the Abu al-Duhur air base in northwestern Syria, near the Turkish border, overnight between Monday, August 17, and Tuesday, August 18. Gofman and al-Shaibani discussed Turkey's military presence in the country, an issue that has become a focal point of tensions between Jerusalem and Ankara over Syria's future, and the conversation stands as one of the highest-level contacts to date between Israel and the new government in Damascus.

Since the fall of Bashar Assad's regime in December 2024, Turkey has become one of the main allies of the new government in Damascus. Ankara, which for years supported some of the rebel groups fighting Assad, now assists the government of President Ahmed al-Sharaa and, among other things, trains and advises Syrian forces. Turkey's defense minister stated last year that Turkey had more than 20,000 troops in Syria and had no plans for the time being to withdraw them.

"Our Heavenly Father, we thank You for watching over Israel's borders and for giving her leaders clarity and resolve. We pray in Yeshua's Name that You keep every hostile force far from Israel's frontiers and grant wisdom to all who guard the nation. Please open doors of genuine understanding between Israel and her neighbors, and let peace, not confrontation, prevail in Syria and throughout the region."

Israel's strikes on the Abu al-Duhur military airfield in Syria's Idlib province on Tuesday, August 18, were necessary to avoid a direct clash with Turkish forces on its borders, two regional experts assessed on Wednesday, August 19. Dr. Hay Eytan Cohen Yanarocak, an expert on Turkey at the Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies at Tel Aviv University, stated that Jerusalem is "not interested" in clashing with Turkey and is therefore "doing everything possible to keep Turkey away from its borders."

Ankara rejected the position set out by Jerusalem that the deployment of Turkish forces violated the "status quo" and posed a threat to Israel's security. Turkey's Presidency claimed that Netanyahu's remarks stemmed from an intention to pursue "expansionist and destabilizing policies" ahead of elections, adding that lasting regional peace could only be achieved if Jerusalem abandoned what Ankara called "aggressive and coercive policies."

"The untenable allegations put forward by the Israeli Prime Minister's Office are intended to legitimize Israel's unlawful airstrikes targeting Syria's sovereignty and territorial integrity," the Turkish Presidency claimed, adding that "Turkey will resolutely continue to cooperate with the Syrian Government on a legitimate basis for the establishment of peace, stability, and prosperity in Syria, and will never allow the destabilization of Syria."

"He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth. He breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the shields with fire." – Psalm 46:9

This song is often sung in celebration. It rings in happiness and appreciation for God's love and blessings. Rejoice for the good that God bestows on us every day!

The remains of Israeli soldier Sgt. First Class Yehuda Katz, who went missing in the First Lebanon War's battle of Sultan Yacoub in 1982, were returned to Israel on Tuesday, August 18, the military announced, with Israeli leaders hailing the country's commitment to bring back every missing or fallen soldier.

The battle, 44 years ago, was a clash between the Israel Defense Forces and the Syrian army in Lebanon's Beqaa Valley that claimed the lives of 21 Israeli servicemen and injured more than 30. Katz, a tank soldier, went missing during the battle along with Sgt. First Class Zachary Baumel and Sgt. First Class Zvi Feldman. Baumel's remains were recovered with Russian assistance and returned to Israel in 2019, and Feldman's remains were recovered by Mossad agents in May 2025.

In a statement, the Israel Defense Forces said that in a special operation led by the Military Intelligence Directorate, in coordination with the Mossad, Katz's bones were located and brought to Israel for burial. No details were given on where they were found. With Katz's return, all three soldiers who went missing at Sultan Yacoub have now been brought home.

"I will search for the lost and bring back the strays." – Ezekiel 34:16a

Ultra-Orthodox Israelis comprise over 80 percent of all draft evaders in the country, the Attorney General's Office stated on Tuesday, August 18, despite an increase in the number of ultra-Orthodox draftees enlisting in the IDF. The office called for the state to strengthen its enforcement of draft orders, including by arresting draft evaders.

In a statement summarizing a discussion on the issue held by military, legal, and police officials, the office of Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara said "the phenomenon of draft evasion is still widespread" even though increased enforcement, sanctions, and the establishment of special service tracks geared toward Haredim have boosted conscription.

Around 50,000 of the 60,000 people declared by the IDF to be draft evaders last year were members of the ultra-Orthodox community — just over 83 percent of the total figure — despite Haredim comprising only around 14 percent of the population. Despite the vast majority of those evading conscription being members of the community, only 34 of the 348 indictments filed for draft dodging so far this year were against Haredim, just under 10 percent of the total.

"Dear God, we lift up the people of Israel and ask You to unite their hearts in carrying the burden of the nation's defense together. We pray in Yeshua's Name that You give wisdom to Israel's leaders, judges, and commanders as they navigate this sensitive matter, and that You soften hearts on every side. Please turn division into mutual respect, and let every community in Israel find its place in serving and strengthening the nation You have restored."

Reported hate crime data released by the Federal Bureau of Investigation shows that Jews remained the most targeted religious group in the United States in 2025, accounting for nearly two-thirds of all religion-based hate crime incidents.

Reported hate crime incidents decreased by 7 percent in 2025, falling from 11,404 incidents in 2024 to 10,606 incidents, and the FBI attributed the decline to a broader drop in violent crime rates, which saw significant decreases across several categories. Despite the overall decline, anti-Jewish hate crimes remained disproportionately high: 1,647 of the 2,572 religion-based hate crimes reported in 2025 targeted Jews, representing 64 percent of all religion-based incidents and approximately 15 percent of all reported hate crimes.

The FBI recorded 1,818 offenses targeting Jews in 2025. The majority involved vandalism or property destruction, with 1,003 such offenses reported, while additional offenses included 541 intimidation incidents, 118 simple assaults, 51 aggravated assaults, and three murders. Anti-Jewish hate crimes remained the most common form of religion-based hate crime, despite declining from the record levels reported in 2024.

"Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings" – Psalm 17:8

Israel's marathon runners continue to deliver outstanding achievements. On Sunday, August 16, Israel won the gold medal for the second consecutive time — and the third time in its history — in the team marathon at the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham, England, after the Israeli runners finished with an overall time of 6:28:37, placing them first. Israeli long-distance runner Gashau Ayale, who won the silver medal last year, once again reached the podium, taking bronze after clocking 2:09:21.

Amanal Petros of Germany finished first and won the individual gold medal after setting a championship record of 2:09:11, while Pietro Riva of Italy took silver in 2:09:18. At the end of the race, Petros and Ayale embraced and congratulated each other. Israel's Tadesse Getahon finished fifth in 2:09:31 and Aymeru Almaya came in eighth in 2:09:45, giving Israel the best cumulative time ahead of Germany in second place and France in third.

"First of all, I want to say thank you to the people of Israel for giving us the privilege of representing you with honor, and that is a great privilege for us," Ayale said. "Personally, I am very happy that I managed to win another medal at the European Championships, and I want to dedicate my medal to all the people of Israel. I love you very much, and we will meet next year."

"How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, 'Your God reigns!'" – Isaiah 52:7

The suggestions, opinions, and scripture references made by VFI News writers and editors are based on the best information received.

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