Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has appointed a new head of the elite Revolutionary Guard, it was announced tonight.

Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards test-fired dozen of missiles, including the long-range Shahab-3, during the first hours of new military manoeuvres, Iranian state-run television said today.

The US must recognise Iran as a “big, regional power,” the head of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards, General Yahya Rahim Safavi, said today.

A top Iranian military official today said the country can now defend against any invasion originating from outside the region – a clear reference to the United States – as it tested a second new radar-avoiding missile.

The commander of the ground forces of the elite Revolutionary Guards died today when a small military passenger jet crashed in north-western Iran trying to make an emergency landing, official media reported.