IRAN - Iran is set to hold a series of war drills with Russia and China, as the hardline regime celebrates the United States' bungled evacuation in Afghanistan and boosts its enrichment of nuclear weapons-grade uranium to historically high levels. Iranian and Russian leaders announced on Monday that their countries, along with China, will hold joint maritime war exercises in the Persian Gulf later this year or early in 2022, according to Iran’s state-controlled media. The countries said they will focus on "shipping security and combating piracy" as the United States reduces its military footprint in the region following its marred withdrawal from Afghanistan. The announcement comes as the rogue countries step up their involvement in war-torn Afghanistan amid a hurried effort by the Biden administration to evacuate US personnel from the country. Iran, Russia, and China have all expressed an interest in replacing the United States as a powerbroker in the nation and working with the newly installed Taliban government.