"All our weapons are defensive and deterrent," foreign ministry spokesman Hamid-Reza Asefi told journalists, adding "the Islamic republic does not threaten other countries, as the last 25 years have shown."

He condemned "the propaganda of the Zionist regime" after Israel condemned the introduction of the Shahab-3 missile.

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei presided Sunday over a ceremony marking the handover of the first of the rockets to the elite Revolutionary Guards, hailing the event as a key moment in the defence of the Palestinian cause.

"Today our people and our armed forces are ready to defend their goals anywhere," Khamenei said.

"This divine force has answered all threats, and we are witnessing today that this divine force is now doing the same for the Lebanese and the Palestinian people," he added.

In Jerusalem, Israeli foreign ministry spokesman David Saranga told AFP that the new missile "is a threat not only to Israel but to the whole region and also to Europe."

Yahya Rahim-Safavi, the head of the Revolutionary Guards, said in his speech during the ceremony in Tehran that his force was now "ready to defend Iran against any threat".

Iran's foreign ministry reported earlier this month a final test of the Shahab-3, which brings arch-enemy Israel well within range of the country's armed forces.

Officials here said previously that the missile -- based on North Korea's No-Dong and Pakistan's Ghauri-II -- has a range of 1,300 kilometersmiles). It can reportedly carry a warhead weighing up to 1,000 kilogrammes (2,200 pounds).

That announcement sparked alarm in the Jewish state, which along with the United States alleges that Iran is using an atomic energy programme as a cover for secret nuclear weapons development.

SPACE.WIRE