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You know my thoughts on this.

I doubt there is any coincidence in a North Korean nuclear test at the same time as Iran is scheduling military maneuvers.

However, this works for those parties in both the political and military arena. I doubt this is an accident either.

I believe those countries will play brinksmanship games right up to the edge, to see if they can achieve their objectives without crossing lines which amount to national suicide.

If the rest of the world blinks, primarily if we fail to impose UN sanctions on Iran's nuclear program, then political maneuver is all we will likely see.

If we impose sanctions, then those countries will understand they have little to lose and then will decide whether to go out fighting or quietly.

For this reason, I am not expecting any military offensive on August 22nd. The more logical time would be after the UNSC meetings begin at the end of August, with possible assymetric (terrorist) operations timed to slightly precede UN negotiations.

However, I won't rule anything out. Iran is led by religious figures who, in my opinion, are mentally unstable. Ditto NK, minus the religious angle. They could believe they can win militarily, on the basis of religious intervention, rather than rational battle calculus.

At that point, all bets are off.