"Today we have successfully tested a new-generation missile capable of hitting different targets at the same time," the commander of the Revolutionary Guards air force, Brigadiar General Hossein Salami, told state television.

The missile, tested on the first day of week-long military exercises in the Gulf, can also "hide from radars and evade anti-missile missiles," he said, without disclosing the range.

Iran has medium-range Shahab-3 missiles with a range of 2,000km, putting arch-enemy Israel and US bases in the Middle East within reach.

Thousands of Iranian troops are beginning wargames in the Gulf to prepare the country's armed forces for warding off "threats" amid increasing tensions with the West over Tehran's nuclear programme.