Iran’s new missile tests were part of a three-day exercise that ended yesterday and included an attack on a model of an American military base constructed in Iran’s Semnan Desert, according to Haaretz.com. Iranian officials are feeling the pressure from stepped-up American and European sanctions, with Arsalan Fathipour, a member of the Iranian parliament, warning on July 3, "If we completely go under the sanctions, we will not let a single oil drop pass through the Hormuz Strait." The United States responded to recent Iranian threats by increasing its naval presence in the Gulf, a move that will likely further drive up tensions with Iran.