Iran today tested missiles near the Strait of Hormuz, underlining its threats to close the vital oil-transit waterway as the West prepares to impose more economic sanctions.

The launch of two missiles took place on the final day of war games in waters east of the strait at the entrance to the Gulf, a navy spokesman, Commodore Mahmoud Mousavi, was quoted as saying by official media. Another missile was also to be tested, he said.

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.

“We have successfully test-fired long-range shore-to-sea and surface-to-surface missiles, called Qader (Capable) and Nour (Light) today,” Deputy Navy Commander Mahmoud Mousavi told state television.

Despite his use of the term ‘long-range’, the semi-official Fars news agency said the Qader’s range was only 200 km, and no figure was given for the Nour. Iran is about 225 km at its nearest point from Bahrain, where the US Fifth Fleet is based, and about 1,000 km from Israel. However, its longest-range missile, the Sajjil-2, has a range of up to 2,400 km.

The show of military muscle was designed to show Iran’s ability to close the Strait of Hormuz through which 20 per cent of the world’s oil flows. Iran said on Monday it had no intention to close the Strait of Hormuz, but has carried out “mock” exercises on shutting it.

“No order has been given for the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. But we are prepared for various scenarios,” state television quoted navy chief Habibollah Sayyari as saying. The US Fifth Fleet said it would not allow shipping to be disrupted in the strategic waterway.

Tehran denies Western accusations that it is trying to build atomic bombs, saying it needs nuclear technology to generate electricity. The United States and Israel have not ruled out military action against Iran if diplomacy fails to resolve the Islamic state’s nuclear row with the West.

The United States, which keeps its Fifth Fleet based in the Gulf, has warned it will not tolerate a closure of the strategic channel.

Halfway through the 10 days of Iranian navy manoeuvres it sent an aircraft carrier, the USS John C Stennis, through the strait on what the Pentagon said was a “routine” passage. But Iranian political and military officials insist they could take that drastic step if the West imposes more sanctions, on top of others that have already taken their toll on Iran’s oil-dependent economy. — Agencies