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Iran has test-fired two long-range missiles which defense analysts say are capable of hitting Israel or US bases in the Gulf region.
The state-sponsored Press TV news channel said that the Shahab 3 and Sejil missiles were fired on Monday, the second day of military exercises by Iran's Revolutionary Guard.
Britain, France and the European Union all expressed their "concern" after the tests, which come just days before Tehran is due to meet the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, along with Germany, to discuss its nuclear program.
Iranian officials have said the Shahab 3, which was last tested in mid-2008, and the Sejil can both travel about 2,000km.
"Iranian missiles are able to target any place that threatens Iran," Abdollah Araqi, a senior Revolutionary Guard commander, was quoted as saying by the semi-official Fars news agency.
Earlier on Monday, Iran test-fired Shahab 1 and Shahab 2 missiles capable of hitting targets between 300km and 700km away.
The missile tests come at a time of increased tension after last week's disclosure by the US - followed by Tehran's admission - that it is building an erstwhile secret second uranium enrichment plant.
Military or sanctions
Alireza Ronaghi, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Tehran, said: "There are two solutions about Iran: one would be sanctions and the other would be military action.
"Iran is trying to prove that sanctions have not worked on the uranium enrichment program. And as far as the military option is concerned, Iran is showing off missiles trying to say that a military option is not going to be viable; it's not going to be a hit-and-run.
"Iran will retaliate and it will not just limit itself to the countries that have led those attacks; it will be a wide range retaliation. This is the message that Iran is sending."
Marwan Bishara, Al Jazeera's senior political analyst, said Iran was "making it clear that it will not accept any dictates from the United States or Europe".
"As long as they are within the framework of the IAEA - as they see it - and within its so-called defensive doctrine, then it will simply go ahead and do what it needs to do and will leave the talking to take place in Europe," he said.
"The Obama administration has made it clear all along that the military option is on the table… If the Obama administration does nothing, there is speculation here in the United States that Israel will take the lead and attack Iran," he said.
Our analyst pointed out, however, that pursuing the military option "would lead to a major escalation in the overall region".
'Notoriously inaccurate'
Iran stages regular military maneuvers in the Gulf, showcasing its long- and medium-range missiles as well as other weaponry.
Theodore Karasik, a defense analyst based in Dubai, told Al Jazeera: "The range [of the missiles], of course, is critical and if they decide to fire the missiles, they would be able to hit various targets based on their selected need.
"The question becomes the accuracy of these missiles, and the earlier series of these Shahabs were notoriously inaccurate. In military parlance, that's called 'circular error probability'. This raises the issue of the sophistication of Shahab 3."
Javier Solana, the European Union foreign policy chief, said that the missile tests placed the October 1 meeting over Iran's nuclear program "in a new context".
Western powers, along with Israel, suspect Iran wants to use its nuclear technology to make weapons but Tehran says it just wants to generate electricity for civilian purposes.
PHOTO CAPTION
An Iranian long-range Shahab-3 missile is seen before being tested from desert terrain at an unspecified location in Iran.
Agencies
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