Iran launched on Sunday a production line for manufacturing cannons for warships which can be used against cruise missiles, the Fars news agency reported.

"The final range of the 40-millimetre naval cannon, named Fath (victory), is 12 kilometres (more than seven miles) and it shoots 300 projectiles per minute," Defence Minister Mohammad Mostafa Najjar said in a statement reported by Fars.

"It can be used against cruise missiles ... It is an anti-aircraft low-altitude weapon for use on warships," he said, adding that it was being entirely built by Iranians.

Iran has boasted in the past of developing new weapons systems only for its claims to be met with scepticism by Western defence analysts.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced on Wednesday that Iran had successfully test-fired a new medium-range missile, named Sejil-2, drawing a warning from Israel that Europe too should now worry about the Islamic republic's ballistic programme.