Tehran’s ‘Domesday Clock’ was symbolic of the regime’s apocalyptic ideology fused with foreign policy.
Khamenei’s prophesy has been shattered. And Iran’s nuclear capabilities have been set back in time.
“Our roar shook Tehran and echoed around the world” – Netanyahu
2040. That was the year Ayatollah Khamenei ‘prophesied’ would mark the complete eradication of the State of Israel. When a digital clock was unveiled on Quds Day in June 2017, the mass protest in ‘Palestine Square’ in Tehran chanted “Death to Israel,” “Death to America,” and “Death to the UK”, while showcasing a portfolio of ballistic missiles capable of reaching Israel and U.S. bases. The clock began its countdown exactly 8,411 days to Israel’s predicted demise.
This week, Israel destroyed the clock.
There could not have been a more symbolic strike. The clock, often dubbed the ‘Doomsday Clock’, embodied the Islamic Republic of Iran’s ideological obsession with destroying Israel. In the worldview held by Iran’s leadership, the intent to destroy of Israel is not merely political, it is sacred, and a precondition for their warped end-times fulfilment.
Since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Iran’s clerical regime has fused apocalyptic ideology with foreign policy, viewing the eradication of Israel as a necessary step in ushering in the return of the Imam Mahdi, Shiite Islam’s messianic figure. More specifically, this belief not only infers the State of Israel, but explicitly links the Mahdi’s reappearance to the extermination of the Jewish people and the collapse of Western powers.
From chants of “Death to Israel” in Tehran to the placement of a “Countdown to Israel’s Destruction” clock in Tehran’s public square, the regime has never hidden its genocidal intent. As recently as March this year, Ayatollah Khamenei published an infographic on his website outlining his vision for destroying Israel. Iran’s threats are not rhetorical – they must be taken with absolute seriousness.
But now the digital clock is gone. Khamenei’s prophesy has been shattered. And Iran’s nuclear capabilities have been set back in time.
Israel’s unprecedented strikes in Tehran on Monday hit key Iranian regime targets, and came just one day after the United States joined the operation, taking out three crucial nuclear sites. In addition to the clock, the strikes included the headquarters of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and blew open the front doors of Evin Prison—notorious for incarcerating thousands of political prisoners, journalists, academics, and human rights activists, where torture and public hangings are commonplace. According to Tehran, some prisoners escaped.
Addressing the nation, Prime Minister Netanyahu declared an “historic victory” through Operation Rising Lion, eliminating two existential threats: Iran’s nuclear program and its 20,000 ballistic missiles.
“At the decisive moment, we rose up and stood like lions, and our roar shook Tehran and echoed around the world,” Netanyahu said, referencing the Bible verse from Numbers 23:24 that he placed in the Western Wall the night before launching the campaign.
“In the scriptures, it is said: ‘By stratagems shall you make war.’” Netanyahu continued, “The surprise opening blow of Rising Lion will go down in the annals of Israel’s wars and will be studied by every military in the world. In one strike, in one blow, we eliminated Iran’s senior command, including three chiefs-of-staff and many other senior officers. And in those same moments, we eliminated Iran’s leading nuclear scientists—those who held the knowledge, led the nuclear program, and sought to bring upon us destruction and death.”
Netanyahu also described how major facilities were destroyed at Natanz, Isfahan, Arak, and Fordo —the latter through U.S. military action.
He detailed how Iran’s ballistic missile industry had been crippled:
“We destroyed dozens of missile production factories. We struck hard at their stock of missiles. We destroyed most of their launchers. In many cases, we destroyed them minutes before they could launch their missiles of death at Israel. Iran’s malicious intention, to threaten – within a few years – the existence of Israel with tens of thousands of ballistic missiles – this threat has also been removed.”
Netanyahu credited the success in part to the “historic” decision by the United States to join offensively in the strikes:
“I must tell you: Israel has never had as great a friend in the White House,” Netanyahu said, referring to President Trump’s role in authorizing U.S. strikes on Iran’s Fordo nuclear site.
“This is a moment of national pride, a moment of unity, a moment when every citizen in Israel can stand proudly and say: Together we did the unimaginable. The nation rose as a lion. Am Yisrael Chai.”
The Iranian regime’s genocidal clock may have been shattered, but every tick of that shameful, antisemitic symbol was a reminder of the countdown to the regime’s own humiliation. After all, the Bible clearly says that the enemies of Israel will not succeed.
Those who attempt to wipe out the Jewish people will utterly fail and be put to shame. According to the Bible, even in the final battle against Israel, God will intervene decisively:
“I will gather all the nations to Jerusalem to fight against it… Then the Lord will go out and fight against those nations, as he fights on a day of battle.” — Zechariah 14:2–3
