Iran carried out joint military drills with Russia on Thursday in an apparent show of force as the U.S. continues to flood the Middle East with advanced jets and warships, leaving the door open to direct attacks on Iran. As part of the drills, Russian and Iranian sailors rehearsed rescue operations from a hijacked vessel in the waters off southern Iran and the Indian Ocean, state-linked media reported . Among the forces deployed by Iran were "missile-launching warships," at least one Iranian