- Also produces first nuclear rod, marking further step in atomic programme
By Nick Enoch
Last updated at 1:18 PM on 2nd January 2012
Iran said today it had successfully test-fired a long-range missile during its naval exercise in the Gulf - flexing its military muscle to show it could hit Israel and U.S. bases in the region if attacked.
The announcement came amid rising tension over Iran's disputed nuclear programme which Western powers believe is working on developing atomic bombs.
Tehran denies the accusation and last week said it would stop the flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz if the West carried out threats to impose sanctions on its oil exports.
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An Iranian navy vessel launches a missile during a drill in the sea of Oman during naval exercises yesterday
Iran's navy test-fired long-range missiles which it said could hit U.S. and Israeli bases in the region
'We have test-fired a long-range shore-to-sea missile called Qader (meaning 'capable'), which managed to successfully destroy predetermined targets in the Gulf,' deputy Navy Commander Mahmoud Mousavi told the official news agency IRNA.
Iran earlier said it would test-fire two long-range missiles on Monday - Qader and another system called Nour ('light') - to display its resolve to counter any attack by enemies such as Israel or the United States.
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Mousavi said observers from the country's closest Arab ally, Syria, would attend the last day of its ten-day naval exercise.
The European Union is considering a ban - already in place by the U.S.- on imports of Iranian crude.
Iranian warships take part in the naval drill during the 10-day exercise
An Iranian warship launches a missile in an unknown location
The U.S. Fifth Fleet reacted to Iran's threat to stop oil flows, saying it will not allow any disruption of traffic in the Gulf.
America and Israel have not ruled out military action against Iran if diplomacy fails to resolve the Islamic state's nuclear row with the West.
Iran said it had no intention to close the Strait of Hormuz.
Ammunition is carried on one of the warships during the war game on the Sea of Oman near the Strait of Hormuz in southern Iran
An Iranian navy warship fires its forward gun during the military exercise
'No order has been given for the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. But we are prepared for various scenarios,' state television quoted navy chief Habibollah Sayyari as saying.
Iranian scientists have also produced the nation's first nuclear fuel rod, a feat of engineering the West has doubted Tehran capable of, the country's nuclear agency said yesterday.
The announcement marks another step in Tehran's efforts to achieve proficiency in the entire nuclear fuel cycle - from exploring uranium ore to producing nuclear fuel.
This is despite U.N. sanctions and measures by the U.S. and others to get it to halt aspects of its atomic work that could provide a possible pathway to weapons production.
Tehran has long said it is forced to seek a way to manufacture the fuel rods on its own, since the sanctions ban it from buying them on foreign markets.?
Iran's Navy chief Habibollah Sayyari (second right) sits next to a revolutionary guard commander during the war game
Military personnel pray as they stand behind a cleric on one of the ships
Nuclear fuel rods are tubes containing pellets of enriched uranium that provide fuel for nuclear reactors.
Iran's atomic energy agency's website said the first domestically made rod has already been inserted into the core of Tehran's research nuclear reactor.
But it was unclear if the rod contained pellets or was inserted empty, as part of a test.
'Scientists and researchers at the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran have succeeded in producing and testing the first sample of a nuclear fuel rod,' said the announcement.
The U.S. and some of its European allies accuse Iran of using its nuclear programme as a cover to develop atomic weapons.
Iran denies the charge, saying the programme is for peaceful purposes only and is geared toward generating electricity and producing medical radioisotopes to treat cancer patients.
Although the rods are easier to make, Iran is also seeking to produce the pellets with enriched uranium. But so far it is not known whether Iranian nuclear scientists have been able to overcome the technical hurdles to do so.
Tehran focused on domestic production of nuclear fuel rods and pellets in 2010, after talks with the West on a nuclear fuel swap deal ended in failure as Iran backed down on shipping a major part of its stock of enriched uranium abroad in return for fuel.
The announcement on the fuel rod came just a day after Tehran proposed a new round of talks on its nuclear programme with six world powers.
The last round of negotiations between Iran and the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council plus Germany was held in January in Istanbul, Turkey, but it ended in failure.
The U.N. has imposed four rounds of sanctions on Tehran over its refusal to halt uranium enrichment, a process that can lead to making a nuclear weapon. Separately, the U.S. and the European Union have imposed their own tough economic and financial penalties.
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