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Iran's military has begun drills near the Natanz nuclear enrichment plant in the centre of the country, state media reported on Tuesday, in anticipation of the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump in just under two weeks.

The drills, named Eqtedar, which means "might" in Farsi, have involved both the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the ideological wing of Iran’s military, and the regular army.

On Monday, IRGC spokesman Ali Mohammad Naini said the drills, which will cover large parts of Iran until at least mid-March, were being carried out in response to "new security threats", without elaborating.

However, it is widely believed that Tehran fears the incoming Trump Administration will either support an Israeli attack on the country’s nuclear facilities or carry out their own attack.

Iranian fears have intensified after a report in US media last week the Biden Administration was seriously considering striking the country.

According to the report in Axios, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan presented President Biden with options for a possible US strike on Tehran’s nuclear facilities if the country is perceived as advancing towards a nuclear weapon before 20 January, the date of Trump’s inauguration.

"The number of drills has almost doubled this year compared to last year, in response to the evolving threat landscape," Naini the Financial Times on the "sidelines" of the same press briefing in Tehran.

"These exercises are significantly larger in scope and sophistication, featuring new weaponry and expanded participation of brigades engaged in realistic operations", he added.

The move also comes after another report by Axios claimed that Trump all but confirmed his incoming administration would support an Israeli strike on Iranian nuclear facilities or order a US strike following a meeting with Israeli Minister for Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer at Mar-a-Lago.

Trump is likely to continue his "maximum pressure"Ìýstrategy against Iran, which saw his first administration pull the US out of a nuclear deal that his predecessor Barack Obama and Washington’s European allies had struck with Tehran, as well as the assassination of IRGC commander Qassem Soleimani.

The controversial hard-right Republican was also one of the most pro-Israel presidents in history during his first term, such as his negotiation of the Abraham Accords, which saw Arab states normalise ties with Israel while ignoring its suppression of Palestinian sovereignty, and the moving of the US embassy in Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.Ìý

Many within Iran now fear that Trump’s continuation of the strategy, combined with Israel’s recent attacks on the country and Iranian retaliation, could lead to military attacks on its nuclear sites and other targets.

On the other hand, it has also been reported that other sources close to Trump believe he might pursue a deal with Tehran before supporting any form of military attacks on the country.

Iran has made it clear that it is ready to negotiate with the US and other Western countries.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told Chinese state TV last week that Iran is ready to resume talks with the US and other world powers to get a new nuclear deal, as reported by Axios.

Trump's decision to withdraw from the original nuclear deal, as well as increasing Israeli aggression towards Iran and its allies in the region, has allegedly prompted Tehran to accelerate its nuclear program, with it now being considered a de facto "nuclear threshold state."

Iran continues to claim that its nuclear programme is solely for civil peaceful means to meet the country’s energy needs.