The Times of Israel reports: “Iran was holding air defense exercises Saturday, state media reported, as the country braced for more friction with Israel and the United States under incoming US president Donald Trump.

The war games came a day after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps released footage of what it called an underground ‘missile city,’ claiming that weapon production had ramped up, contrary to Israeli claims.

Iranian leaders are thought to be readying for the possibility that Trump could empower Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to attack Iran’s nuclear sites, while further tightening US sanctions on its oil industry through his ‘maximum pressure’ policy.

‘In these exercises… defense systems will practice the fight against air, missile and electronic warfare threats in real battlefield conditions… to protect the country’s skies and sensitive and vital areas,’ Iranian state television said.

The drills were part of two months of exercises launched on January 4 that have already included war games in which the elite Revolutionary Guards defended key nuclear installations in Natanz against mock attacks by missiles and drones, state media said…”