Iran test fires new long-range missile: report

Iran said on Sunday it "successfully" tested a new air-to-sea missile with a range of 110 kilometers (68 miles), as Turkey said it would consider playing the role of a mediator between Iran and the United States.

"Iranian defense specialists are able to successfully install missiles with a range of 110 kilometers on fighter planes and launch them," the Fars new agency reported, adding that the high-precision weapon weighs about 500 kilos. It did not say when the test was conducted.


The report said the latest test showed the Islamic republic's "ability to automatically direct the missile and carry warheads to destroy large targets at sea."

The announcement comes just days after a top military commander said Iran has missiles that can reach nuclear facilities in its arch-foe Israel.

Mohammed Ali Jafari, the head of Iran's Revolutionary Guards Corps, said Tehran has missiles with a range of more than 2,000 kilometers, bringing all of Israel within range.

But defense analysts question the accuracy of Iran's longer-range missiles.

Jafari's comment came amid sustained speculation that Israel could target Iranian nuclear plants.

Israel has a major nuclear facility at Dimona in the Negev desert, at which it is widely believed to have developed a nuclear arsenal. Israel maintains a policy of neither confirming nor denying a nuclear capability, but it is suspected to have more than 200 warheads.

Iran does not recognize the Jewish state and has repeatedly predicted its demise.

Press TV said in a scrolling headline, without giving details: "Iran test fires new long-range missile."

The Islamic Republic often stages war games or tests weapons to show its determination to counter any attack by foes such as Israel and the United States.

Israel and Washington accuse Tehran of trying to develop nuclear bombs, but Iran denies this.

Israel has not ruled out military action if diplomacy fails to end the dispute over Iran's nuclear program, echoing U.S. policy, though new U.S. President Barack Obama has offered to engage Iran in direct talks if it "unclenches its fist."

The U.S. State Department declined to comment on the Iranian press reports.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan said on Sunday, after meeting U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and shortly before leaving for Tehran, that Turkey would consider serving as mediator between Iran and the United States.

Turkey would weigh any requests by the two sides to serve as a mediator and current efforts to open a dialogue are "an important opportunity," Babacan told reporters before leaving for Tehran for an Economic Cooperation Organization meeting chaired by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Clinton, who was in Ankara for talks with Babacan, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and President Abdullah Gul, said in an interview on Turkish television on Saturday that the United States would ask Turkey to help push forward U.S. President Barack Obama's plan to engage Iran

Tehran has missiles with a range of more than 2,000 kilometers, bringing all of Israel within range

Mohammed Ali Jafari, the head of Iran Revolutionary Guards Corps