US Army commanders make 'Armageddon' claims amid Iran war: ‘Trump anointed by Jesus’

WASHINGTON, DC: The ongoing US-Iran war has taken an unexpected turn into religious controversy, as reports emerge that some US Army commanders are framing the conflict in explicitly biblical terms, drawing sharp criticism and official complaints.

The claims have ignited a row about religion, military conduct, and the separation of church and state amid one of the most serious foreign policy crises in recent decades.

US commander’s Armageddon claim amid US-Iran conflict

In a report published on Tuesday, March 3 by the Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF), at least 200 US servicemen from 50 military installations “across all the services” said their commanders have begun to present the war against Iran in religious, rather than purely strategic, terms.

According to a complaint from an MRFF-affiliated non-commissioned officer (NCO), one United States Army commander specifically referenced the Book of Revelation, including Armageddon and the imminent return of Jesus Christ, during a combat readiness meeting.

The NCO alleged that the commander said, "President Trump was anointed by Jesus to light the signal fire in Iran to cause Armageddon and mark his return to Earth.” This remark, made in the context of a brief meeting, was reported by the NCO on behalf of 15 other members of their unit and has become central to the broader complaints collected by MRFF.

They additionally stated that some commanders have, "opened up the combat readiness status briefing by urging us to not be ‘afraid’ as to what is happening with our combat operations in Iran right now. He urged us to tell our troops that this was all part of God’s divine plan."

CIA move and Trump’s stark warning to Iran

On Tuesday, CNN reported, that the Central Intelligence Agency is attempting to arm Kurdish groups operating along Iran’s northwestern border with Iraq and Turkey. Earlier, Axios reported that Trump held phone calls with Mustafa Hijri, chief of the Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (KDPI), the largest Kurdish resistance group in Iran.

A senior Iranian Kurdish official told CNN that they are preparing for ground action against the Shia regime in Iran and view the current power vacuum as a “big opportunity.”

The report about the CIA possibly arming Kurdish groups surfaced as Trump posted on Truth Social Tuesday, “Their air defense, Air Force, Navy and Leadership is gone. They want to talk. I said ‘Too Late!’”

He further added that the US was prepared “to go far longer” than a four- to five-week war against Iran. In later comments at the White House alongside German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, Trump said, “Just about everything’s been knocked out.”

He also denied that Israel had forced his hand into launching the war, while admitting he worried about a “worst-case scenario” in Iran in which “somebody takes over who’s as bad as the previous person.”