Iran this month launched its most extensive military exercises in decades, flying thousands of drones, parading rocket launchers and ballistic missiles, and thwarting a simulated assault on a nuclear facility that involved “a multitude of air threats,” according to state television coverage.

Once a heavy hitter in the Middle East, Iran has been weakened by the decimation of its proxies Hezbollah and Hamas, along with US sanctions and the fall of Assad in Syria.