Seems that America has just been woken up to the news that the IDF Air Force Branch has been carrying out long range flying military drills that are aimed towards Iran.

In an article by Fox News, it states that the Air Force is preparing for all possibilities that Iran throws out there. Specific exercises included refueling capabilities in-air and helicopter rescues for a downed airplane.

So why exactly were they there? An anonymous U.S. official says,

“They have been conducting some large-scale exercises — they live in a tough neighborhood”

which suggest that Israel carried this out on their own accord. However, it is also being said by another defense official that these reports are a direct result of a planned leak from the Pentagon to send a strong signal to Iran that both the United States and Israel will not be backing down from their hard earned stances.

Asked if Israel was planning a future attack on Iran, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert stated that he prefers Iran’s nuclear plans to be dismantled diplomatically but also clearly declined to dismiss military action as a possible recourse if need be.

He also commented that

“Israel always has to be in a position to defend itself against any adversary and against any threat of any kind.”

Previous Israeli air strikes against nuclear testing and developing sites have been carried out in 1981 against Saddam Hussein and last September with Syria’s nuclear reactor being built with North Korean assistance.

Current U.S. Intelligence states that Iran has stopped its nuclear weapon development, however, Israel is wary of these accounts and believes this to be false.