Iran mentioned on Thursday that its navy had successfully fired a new locally made cruise missile at the time of the war games in the northern part of the Indian Ocean and close by the entrance to the Gulf.
The test-firing comes as the US is looking for an extension of an UN-imposed arms ban against Itan that is going to expire in October under Tehran's 2015 nuclear deal with the world powers. Washington withdrew from the pact.
Iran Successfully Tested Cruise Missile
"During the exercises, short-range and long-range coast-to-sea and sea-to-sea missiles were successfully fired from the coast and from decks of ships, hitting their targets with great precision," the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported.
The new generation cruise missiles, with a range of 280 km (175 miles) were tested during exercises by the Iranian navy in the Gulf of Oman, which lies next to the Strait of Hormuz waterway at the mouth of the Gulf, and the northern Indian Ocean, Tasnim said.
In April, Iran said it had increased the range of its naval missiles to 700 km. Western military analysts say Iran often exaggerates its weapons capabilities but concerns about its long-range ballistic missiles program contributed to the U.S. decision to leave Iran's 2015 deal to rein in its nuclear ambitions in exchange for an easing of economic sanctions.
(With agency inputs)
