* * * * FLASH TRAFFIC: EPICENTER UPDATE * * * *

HAS THE END GAME BEGUN? PRIVATELY, SENIOR ISRAELI OFFICIALS WARN WAR WITH IRAN COULD COME IN 2013.

* Netanyahu begins public diplomacy campaign to prepare public for "military option."
* Watch 2013 Epicenter Conference messages online.

By Joel C. Rosenberg (@joelcrosenberg on Twitter)

(Netanya, Israel, July 15, 2013) -- Over the past several weeks, I have been hearing from current and former senior Israeli officials and advisors at the highest possible levels, that the showdown with Iran is entering the critical ”end game” phase. I’m hearing from people with direct knowledge of the plans that war could come in 2013.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is beginning to prepare the public in Israel and around the world for a “military option.” This is why he appeared on CBS’s “Face The Nation” on Sunday (see excerpt of transcript on the blog).

The PM called the Iranian a “messianic, apocalyptic” regime bent on genocide, a reference to the Shia eschatology Khamenei holds that Iran must annihilate Israel and the U.S. to usher in the reign of the Twelfth Imam. Netanyahu also called the incoming Iranian president, Hassan Rouhani, a “a wolf in sheep’s clothing” who has bragged in the past about negotiating with the West while secretly advancing nuclear enrichment. What’s more, Netanyahu vowed not to “wait too long” to stop Iran.

Expect more public diplomacy by Netanyahu and his team in the weeks ahead.

This is one of the reasons why the PM is sending his most trusted foreign policy advisor, Ron Dermer, to the U.S. to serve as Israel’s ambassador. Dermer will work to ensure U.S.-Israeli relations are strong at this critical moment. Dermer (who grew up in Miami Beach and is a native English speaker) will also explain Israel’s principles, objectives and actions to the American people before, during, and after any crisis with Iran.

Here’s the key: Israeli intelligence now believes Iran will likely have a “nuclear device” in as soon as four to six months, and an operational nuclear bomb or warhead within a year.

But top Israeli political and military leaders -- up to an including the Prime Minister -- do not believe they can afford to wait that long. Therefore, they are making final preparations for war, a war that they increasingly believe may have to be launched before this year is over.

Haven’t we heard warnings like this before? Yes, we have. But....

[To read the rest of this analysis, please go to the blog.]

Other important stories on the blog right now include:

* With interest in Gog & Magog prophecies growing, Muslim scholar writes analysis from Islamic perspective.

* Who is Ron Dermer? He could emerge as the most influential Israeli Ambassador to the U.S. in a generation.

* Only 16% of Israeli Jews read the Bible. Most Arab Muslims have never seen a Bible. It’s time to rediscover the “Power of the Word.” 2013 Epicenter Conference messages now posted online & and our mobile app.

* Inside The Revolution: Drama builds amidst military coup in Egypt. Muslim Brotherhood leadership arrested. Who is Adly Mansour, new “interim president”?
Putin meets with Ahmadinejad to strengthen Russian-Iranian alliance amidst Mideast drama.

[To read these articles -- and/or learn more about DAMASCUS COUNTDOWN; or to find links to the latest news and analysis of events and trends in the U.S., Israel, North Africa, Russia, and the Middle East -- please go to: http://flashtrafficblog.wordpress.com/.]