Iran flexes muscles with long-range missile test

IRAN said yesterday it had successfully test fired what it described as two long-range missiles, flexing its military muscle in the face of mounting Western pressure over its nuclear programme.

The announcement came at the climax of 10 days of naval exercises in the Gulf, during which Tehran has warned it could shut the Strait of Hormuz, through which 40% of world oil is shipped, if sanctions were imposed on its oil exports.

Analysts say Iran’s increasingly strident rhetoric, which has pushed oil prices higher, is aimed at sending a message to the West that it should think twice about the economic cost of putting further pressure on Tehran.