Iran successfully test fired a medium-range surface-to-air missile on Sunday during navy war games taking place near the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

Iran successfully test-fired a medium-range surface-to-air missile on Sunday during navy war games taking place near the strategic Strait of Hormuz, official IRNA news agency quoted a spokesman for the maneuvers as saying.

"This medium-range surface-to-air missile is equipped with the latest technology to combat radar-evading targets and intelligent systems which try to disrupt missile navigation," Commodore Mahmoud Mousavi said.

He said it was the first time Iran had tested this kind of missiles, which was "domestically designed and built."

Mousavi also told the ISNA news agency that the 10-day war game of “Velayat 90” were to end Monday with all ships and submarines exercising a new tactic to practice the closure of the strait "if Iran's navy so chooses."

Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayyari said the Iranian forces will fire surface-to-air missiles today during the drills.

Sayyari told reporters on Saturday evening that the aim of the exercise is to show Iran’s armed forces intention, determination and will to defend country’s interests.

'By holding the exercise, we are showing our defensive and preventive ability in the free waters,' said the commander.

Speaking to IRNA, he said the missiles have been built by committed experts of the Navy as well as scientific and defense industries centers.

Sayyari noted that several surface-to-surface, surface-to-sea, shoulder-launched missiles and torpedoes will also be fired during Sunday and Monday operations of the naval forces.

The missile's launch and the war games are meant to show Iran's military capabilities at a time that the United States and other Western nations are increasing pressure over Tehran's nuclear program.

The fact that they are taking place near the Strait of Hormuz has focused attention on Iran's threats in recent days that it could close the narrow channel at the entrance to the Gulf if more sanctions are imposed.

In a move that could intensify a brewing Gulf showdown, US President Barack Obama on Saturday signed into law tough new sanctions targeting Iran's central bank and financial sector.

Twenty percent of the world's oil passes through the Strait of Hormuz, making it the "most important chokepoint" globally, according to the US Energy Information Administration.

Iran said the scale of the maneuvers was unprecedented in terms of the number of navy units taking part and the area involved: 2,000 square kilometers (770 square miles).