Iran test-fires missiles in Persian Gulf, Hormouz
Iran test-fires missiles in Persian Gulf, Hormouz
Missiles fired included a new version of the Shahab-3.

Tehran: Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards test-fired nine long and medium-range missiles on Wednesday.

Officials say these are in response to US and Israeli threats, state television reported.

General Hossein Salami, a top Guards commander, was quoted as saying the exercise ''is to demonstrate our resolve and might against enemies who in recent weeks have threatened Iran with a harsh language.'' The drill was conducted in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormouz.

The report didn't provide details but said the missiles fired included a new version of the Shahab-3 missile, which officials have said has a range of 1,250 miles.

The report comes less than a day after Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said he sees no possibility of a war with the United States or Israel.

''I assure you that there won't be any war in the future,'' Ahmadinejad told a news conference Tuesday during a visit to Malaysia for a summit of developing Muslim nations.

Iranian officials have been issuing a mix of conciliatory and bellicose statements in recent weeks about the possibility of a clash with the US and Israel.

Israel's military sent warplanes over the eastern Mediterranean for a large military exercise in June that US officials described as a possible rehearsal for a strike on Iran's nuclear facilities, which the West fears are aimed at producing atomic weapons.

For months, Ahmadinejad and other Iranian officials have said they don't believe the U.S. will attack because of its difficulties in Iraq, domestic worries and concerns over the fallout in the region. At the same time, Tehran has stepped up its warnings of retaliation if the Americans or Israelis do attack it, including threats to hit Israel and US Gulf bases with missiles and stop oil traffic through the vital Gulf region.

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