Iran test fires cruise missile from submarine near Strait of Hormuz

Iran test fired a cruise missile from a submarine in Gulf waters on Sunday, as military tensions between Tehran and Washington continue to heat up.

The test happened during Iranian naval exercises in the tense Strait of Hormuz, between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula, where much of the world's oil passes through.

"On the third day of the... exercises, a Ghadir-class Iranian navy submarine successfully launched a cruise missile," the official news agency IRNA reported, according to Reuters.

Iran launched its cruise-missile carrying Fateh military submarine last-week, as a war-of-words between Tehran and Washington continues.

The Fateh is a 600-tonne underwater vessel equipped with torpedoes and naval mines, along with cruise missiles, and is capable of operating 200 metres underwater for up to 35 days.

Tehran's ballistic missile programme has been a key point of contention with the US, and one of the reasons given by Washington for ending a nuclear agreement with Iran last year.

The three-day Iranian military exercises will see 100 vessels take part in the war games in the strategically-significant waters off Iran's coast.

Iran was said to have test-fired a short-range anti-ship missile during naval drills in August.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards unveiled a new surface-to-surface ballistic missile with a range of 1,000 kilometres (620 miles) earlier this month, called Dezful.

It also put on a huge military display this week for 40th anniversary celebrations of the Iranian Revolution.

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Sunday that Israel was "looking for war", while Tehran has blamed neighbour Pakistan for a militant attack on Revolutionary Guards troops on Wednesday.

Agencies contributed to this strory.