Iran has built a new longer-range missile named "Ashura" with a range of 2,000 kilometres, (1,240 miles), the defence minister announced on Tuesday, the Fars news agency reported.

"The construction of the Ashura missile with a range of 2,000 kilometres is one of the accomplishments of the ministry of defence," Defence Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najjar was quoted as saying.

The weapon's range is sufficient to put US bases in the Middle East and Iran's arch enemy Israel within reach. The missile is named after the holy Ashura mourning ceremony that marks the death of Shiite imam Hossein

Iran in September unveiled a missile labelled Ghadr-1 (Power), which was said to have a range of 1,800 kilometres (1,100 miles). However Western experts cast doubt on how original this development was.