TEHRAN, Sept 21: Iran showed off its range of ballistic missiles at an annual military parade on Tuesday, with the rockets draped in banners vowing to "crush America" and "wipe Israel off the map".

A banner stating "Israel must be wiped off the map" was draped on the side of a Shahab-2 missile, while a banner saying "We will crush America under our feet" was on the side of a trailer carrying the latest Shahab-3 missile.

The parade marks the beginning of "Sacred Defence Week", an event commemorating Iraq's 1980 attack on Iran and the outset of the bloody eight-year war. "The Shahab-3 missiles, with different ranges, enables us to destroy the most distant targets," said an official commentary accompanying the parade, which was carried live on state television.

"These missiles enable us to destroy the enemy with missile strikes," the commentary said, without giving any specific details on the range of the missiles. The Shahab-3 is Iran's most advanced missile and is capable of hitting arch-enemy Israel. -AFP