Iranian state run television announced that during the first hours of the military moves several kinds of short range missiles were also fired in the central desert area of Iran, as well as the long-range Shahab-3.

The tests came two days after US-led warships finished an exercise in the Gulf that Tehran described as "adventurist."

"We want to show our deterrent and defensive power to trans-regional enemies, and we hope they will understand the message of the manoeuvres," said General Yahya Rahim Safavi, the head of the Revolutionary Guards, in an apparent reference to the US and other Western powers.

The general said the 10-day manoeuvres, named "Great Prophet," would take place in the Gulf, the Sea of Oman and several provinces of the country. He did not specify how many troops were involved.

State television showed footage of a dozen types of missiles being fired from mobile launching pads. Television reports said the missiles were made by Iranian experts and demonstrated the country’s capability to meet its own military needs.

Shahab-3 missiles are capable of carrying a nuclear warhead and are believed to have a range of more than 2,000 kilometers (1,242 miles).

Among the other weapons tested was the Shahab-2, which has a cluster warhead that can send 1,400 bomblets at the same time, state-TV said. Solid-fuel Zalzal missiles also were launched, as were guided missiles such as Scud-B, Zolfaghar-73 and Z-3, it said.

The war games came as the UN Security Council considered sanctions on Iran over its nuclear programme, which Tehran says is purely geared at civilian use but that the US and other western powers fear could hide research on an atomic bomb.

Iran has said that the US-led six-nation drills this week in the region would not improve security in the Gulf waters, through which about 20 per cent of the world’s oil passes. It also called on Gulf nations to set up their own regional security arrangements.

The US-led drills focused on surveillance, with warships tracking a ship suspected of carrying components of illegal weapons. The nations that took part were Australia, Bahrain, Britain, France, Italy and the United States.

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