RIYADH, Nov 4: By firing the long-range Shahab-3 missile earlier this week, in the immediate aftermath of naval exercises in the Gulf led by the US-led western forces, Iran has sent a message of defiance, said the Saudi Gazette on Friday. The long-range of Shahab-3 missile is sufficient to threaten US bases in the Gulf. Stakes are running high, analysts here emphasised.

Iran fired the longer-range missile for the first time on Thursday kicking off 10 days of war games.

"Shahab missile, carrying cluster warheads, with a range of 2,000 kilometres, was fired from the desert near (Iran's clerical capital) Qom," state television reported.

The test-firing came a day after a US-led naval force launched manoeuvres for the first time in the Gulf near Iran in a test of capabilities to halt trafficking in weapons of mass destruction.