NBC reports: “Iran would take pre-emptive action against its enemies if it felt its national interests were endangered, the deputy head of the Islamic Republic’s armed forces was quoted by a semi-official news agency as saying Tuesday. . . . Iran announced air defense war games to practice protecting nuclear and other sensitive sites, the latest in a series of military maneuvers viewed as a message to the West that Iran is prepared both to defend itself against an armed strike and to retaliate.”

And America’s posture toward the Iranians? Warning the Israelis not to strike. “We think that it’s not prudent at this point to decide to attack Iran,”  Joint Chiefs of Staff chair Gen. Martin Dempsey said over the weekend on CNN. “I mean, that’s been our counsel to our allies, the Israelis, well-known, well-documented.”