Iran will not be Qaddafied

"No threat to Iran is taken superficially by the people in charge," Mohammad Javad Larijani, a senior advisor to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, told AFP, last week. 

"We are fully prepared to confront any challenge." The air defense exercises that reportedly started today in the eastern part of the country near Afghanistan would seem to bear this out. 

According to various news reports, the exercises are planned to last four days, and involve both the Revolutionary Guard and regular military forces. PressTV reported that the initial phase of the drills are meant to test the ability of military units to react and deploy in case of attack.

The exercise comes on the heels of stepped up threats coming from the U.S. and Britain. Yesterday, the IAEA's Board of Governors passed a resolution expressing "increasing concern" about Iran's nuclear program. 

Iran said the vote would only strengthen its determination to proceed with sensitive work. Meanwhile, in Washington, Obama Administration officials say the U.S. is planning to move ahead with sanctions on Iran's oil industry which could be revealed as soon Nov. 21. 

The new sanctions would be aimed at foreign companies that do business in Iran.

The IAEA action came on the heals of a Pentagon announcement that the U.S. Air Force has begun taking delivery of a new 30,000 lb "Massive Ordnance Penetrator" bomb, allegedly capable of digging 200 feet into the earth before exploding. 

Otherwise, the only U.S. military deployment being reported remains the two aircraft carriers and the one amphibious assault group deployed somewhere in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility.