Bids to disarm Iran will backfire

The deputy chief of Iran's Revolutionary Guards has warned Europe against forcing the Islamic Republic into boosting the range of its missiles by trying to halt their development.

"If the Europeans, or anyone else, want to conspire to disarm Iran of missiles, we will be forced to make a strategic leap," the guards' deputy commander Brigadier-General Hossein Salami said on state TV on Saturday.

"All that hear me today, come to terms with the new reality of Iran's missile might: there are no obstacles or technical limitations to us increasing (their) range," he added.

The Islamic Republic develops its missile technology according to a "defensive strategy" which changes according to need, he said.

Earlier Saturday, Iran announced the "successful test" of a new cruise missile with a range of over 1,350 kilometres (840 miles), coinciding with the anniversary of the country's 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Defence Minister Amir Hatami said the Hoveizeh cruise missile had successfully hit its targets, calling it the "long arm of the Islamic Republic of Iran".

Iran reined in most of its nuclear programme under a landmark 2015 deal with major powers, but has kept up development of its ballistic missile technology.