Directly across the street from the United Nations Headquarters in New York City sits the Isaiah Wall, which bears an inscription from the Book of Isaiah in the Bible about peace. It states: “They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation,neither shall they learn war anymore.”
In contrast, reflecting on 2025, a year of conflict, the world was far from establishing peace. In fact, the year closed as it began, in a state of global unrest and persistent war and the outlook for 2026 does not portend to fare much better. The tension barometer across the globe shows the nations teetering on the edge of war and rumors of war in multiple regions.
The world has reached a dangerous crossroads that world leaders have been warned about by the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan and his teacher, the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad, the Eternal Leader of the Nation of Islam.
All of 2025 continued the forward march toward what Minister Farrakhan and his teacher explained is a universal change of an “old world going out, and a new world coming in.” Both of these divinely guided servants of Allah (God) have warned the rulers, warmongers and exploiters that the tides would change against wicked rulership.
“Pride and arrogance are part of the leaders’ mentalities,” said Minister Farrakhan in his illuminating book, “A Torchlight For America.”
“This spiritual disease is what blinds them to the true formula for success because they’re trying to keep up a posture in the world that is out of step with the will of God and the demands of the time,” he wrote. “They want to maintain themselves as the great imperialist power, the overlord, the slave-master, the god beside God,” added Minister Farrakhan.
In 2023, Minister Farrakhan spoke on the subject, “The War of Armageddon Has Begun,” which provides context to the spiraling state of affairs seen happening in 2025 and heading into 2026.
He explained this dreaded “war to end all wars,” otherwise seen as World War III, has been in motion and the reason for it. “Why must there be a War of Armageddon?” Minister Farrakhan asked during his 2023 Saviours’ Day message.
“Because evil is spreading far and wide. The God of Righteousness is upset! He is tired of the wickedness, the iniquity of the people, and He is tired of the wickedness of Satan,” he said. “We’re either going to be right or we’re going to be dead. The War of Armageddon is to decide who will live on this Earth.
You can’t live on an Earth that was made for the righteous and think you can continue practicing evil and God won’t punish you, or take your life,” said Minister Farrakhan. “Watch the war,” he continued. “It’s already on … and it’s going to get hot,” he added.
Minister Farrakhan said the War of Armageddon starts with a Messenger of God teaching people the truth. Then people fall on either side of belief or disbelief.
The unfolding events of 2025, wrought with distorted morality, dominated the global landscape and proved the warnings of Minister Farrakhan and the Honorable Elijah Muhammad to be true.
In the Middle East is the genocidal war on the Palestinian people by the State of Israel, which is still active despite a so-called 20-point “peace plan” advanced by the administration of President Donald Trump in October. Observers and analysts contend the initiative was a scheme to obtain Palestine without the Palestinians.
“This is to beat down the Palestinian resistance in general, and to force them into the acceptance of the permanent exclusion of Palestinians from their own land, and the acceptance of Israeli dominance, not only in Palestine, but really in the region,” Ajamu Baraka, the director of Black Alliance for Peace North-South Project For People(s) Centered Human Rights, told The Final Call in a recent interview.
Meanwhile, Israel continues onslaughts, land grabbing and Palestinian marginalization in Gaza and the West Bank. In addition, Israeli warfare also continues in Lebanon and Syria.
In Eastern Europe, the Russia-Ukraine conflict still rages. Despite talks of drawing the Russia-Ukraine bloodbath to a close, 2025 ends with continued fighting.
In addition, the back-and-forth conflict between Russia and European nations within the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) intensified throughout 2025 with no signs of cooling down before 2026.
As rhetoric bounces back and forth between the leaders, Russian President Vladimir Putin dismissed European claims of an imminent Russian threat to their sovereignties.
“They are whipping up hysteria, guided by momentary, personal or group political interests rather than the interests of their people,” Mr. Putin told an annual meeting of Russia’s Defence Ministry Board.
“I have said many times that this is a lie and an irrational narrative about an imaginary Russian threat to European countries. But they are doing this deliberately,” he said.
Speaking to the Russian military elite, Mr. Putin assured them of Russia’s readiness for war.
“Our army has become totally different,” he said on Dec. 17, referring to troop command, tactics, strategy, equipment, and the work and performance of the defense and industrial complex. He also said Russia’s place as a nuclear power has been enhanced.
“Our nuclear shield is more updated than the nuclear component of any officially recognized nuclear power,” said Mr. Putin. He stated that Russia’s nuclear forces are 92 percent modernized, surpassing any other nuclear power in the world.
The long-running war between Russia and Ukraine remained one of the world’s deadliest conflicts in 2025, marked by sustained frontline fighting and heavy casualties. Conflict experts say 2025 has been a year of heavy fighting.
According to ACLED (Armed Conflict Location & Event Data), which tracks political violence worldwide, overall conflict levels remained largely steady over the past 12 months.
ACLED recorded 204,605 conflict events between December 2024 and November 28, 2025, compared with 208,219 events during the previous 12-month period. These violent incidents resulted—conservatively—in more than 240,000 deaths, according to the group.
The wars in Ukraine and Palestine were the primary drivers of global violence, accounting for more than 40 percent of all conflict events during the period. Meanwhile, the civil wars in Myanmar and Sudan continued at high intensity, and fighting persisted in Syria despite the removal of President Bashar al-Assad.
Conflicts raged in Asia as tensions between Cambodia and Thailand emerged. On Dec. 18, AP reported Thailand carried out additional airstrikes on Cambodia. “The two nations have been fighting over patches of territory along the border that both claim.
Several disputed areas contain the remains of centuries-old temples that have been damaged by the fighting, with Thailand claiming Cambodian forces had used them as bases,” reported AP.
And in May of this year, India and Pakistan, who have had tense relations for years, engaged in a four-day conflict which, according to the Harvard Kennedy School’s Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs, “pushed the two nuclear-armed states to the brink of a full-blown war.”
ACLED’s Conflict Watchlist highlights countries and regions projected to face armed conflict, political unrest, and humanitarian emergencies in 2026. Many are listed as conflict areas of 2025.
U.S. errant posturing and provocation
Photo: Korean Central News Agency/Korea News Service via AP
In recent months, the U.S. exerted itself as a global bully, committing multiple air strikes that killed dozens under the guise of fighting drug cartels in the Caribbean Sea.
The Trump dministration argues that the extrajudicial killings were justified, claiming the speedboat occupants were “narco-terrorists,” while presenting no evidence to support the assertion.
Observers and analysts contend that the military buildup in the region is aimed at invading Venezuela and overthrowing the government led by President Nicolás Maduro, and gaining access to the nation’s oil reserves and rare earth minerals.
The waters of the region are an internationally recognized Zone of Peace. The attacks drew condemnation from throughout the Caribbean and Latin America, with fears the U.S. aggression could destabilize the region.
Venezuela is an oil and mineral-rich country that has been at odds with the U.S. for decades. Successive governments were targets for regime change by Washington. The Trump administration resurfaced past accusations alleging President Maduro is working with drug cartels and placed a $50 million bounty for his arrest in 2025.
The Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad warned of America’s deceptive intentions on the world stage, as the country continues to interfere in the affairs of other nations and cause mischief.
“America has done the worst work of deceiving other peoples and making false friendships with them. Now her turn has come. No one wants to trust her for friendship, for she has deceived many nations,” the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad wrote in His prophetic book, “The Fall of America,” in a chapter titled, “America’s Loss of Friendship.”
U.S. massive war chest
The U.S. Senate voted overwhelmingly to approve its annual defense budget on Dec. 17, authorizing $901 billion in military spending,
President Trump, who returned to office this year, pledged no more wars; however, in less than one year has embarked on multiple conflicts. There is continued backing of Israel in its Gaza offensive, despite announcing a so-called ceasefire, critics argue, remains marred with mutual violations. The U.S. entered Israel’s 12-day war on Iran and dropped missiles on nuclear sites within the Islamic Republic.
The business and investment in war are growing, with major deals in 2025. Experts cite a consistent year-to-year uptick that they project will continue in 2026. Global arms revenues rose sharply in 2024, as demand was boosted by the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, global and regional geopolitical tensions, and ever-higher military expenditure.
For the first time since 2018, all five of the largest arms companies increased their arms revenues to a record $679 billion, according to new data released by Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).
While the bulk of the global rise was due to companies based in Europe and the U.S., there were year-on-year increases across all regions featured in the SIPRI Top 100.
Although global figures for 2025 are not yet complete, available data show that military spending remains high and continues to rise, with the U.S., China, and Russia as the largest spenders. Countries in Europe and the Middle East are also increasing defense budgets.
In December, the Trump administration announced a substantial package of arms sales to Taiwan valued at more than $10 billion that includes medium-range missiles, howitzers and drones. The move caught the ire of China, the leading U.S. competitor for global influence.
“China firmly opposes and strongly condemns this,” and “it seriously undermines peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait,” said Guo Jiakun, spokesman for the foreign ministry in Beijing.
“The U.S. support for Taiwan independence through arms will only set itself on fire. Using Taiwan to contain China will not succeed,” Mr. Guo told reporters on Dec. 18. Beijing claims Taiwan as Chinese territory.
“The United States continues to assist Taiwan in maintaining sufficient self-defense capabilities, and in rapidly building strong deterrent power and leveraging asymmetric warfare advantages, which form the foundation for maintaining regional peace and stability,” said Taiwan’s defense ministry, news outlets reported.
According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), which monitors nation-to-nation arms sales, Saudi Arabia accounted for 12% of all U.S. arms exports between 2020 and 2024, making it the largest single recipient of American military equipment during that period.
Early in the year, President Trump inked a record $600 billion business package with Saudi Arabia that included a $142 billion arms deal, which a White House fact sheet touted as the largest in U.S. defense history. The deal involves more than a dozen American defense companies. For arms merchants, 2025 has been an economic bonanza.
Nations are aggressively modernizing their military capabilities and rolling out new weapons systems, including those designed for outer space. International forums like the U.N., NATO, the African Union (AU),
The Organization of American States (OAS), the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), and arms control bodies like the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) purport to promote peace, but bloodshed persists.
Oblivious to the laws of justice, the proponents of war have rejected sound reason. On page 209 of “The Fall of America,” the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad explains this wicked mindset that enables unrelenting war.
“We do not hope for peace as long as we add to the war that which serves as fuel to a fire,” He wrote in the chapter titled, ‘Fire Fed With Fuel.’”
“The fire cannot go out as long as we keep it burning by adding more fuel. A dying, burning fire is increased when more fuel is thrown into it,” the Most Honorable Elijah Muhammad continued.
“How can we expect peace where the method used to bring about peace is the same method that started the war—instead of finding a right solution and then practicing the right solution?” He asked.