Iran's Revolutionary Guards hold war games

Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards have embarked on a new round of war games to sharpen their combat readiness, amid continued tensions over the Iranian nuclear drive, the Fars news agency reported.

"The Great Prophet Manoeuvres III are being held by the missile divisions of the Revolutionary Guards air force and its naval vessels," the agency reported late on Monday.

The aim of the war games is "improving the combat capability of the missile and naval units," it added.

The Revolutionary Guards are Iran's ideological army who have their own ground forces, navy and air forces which operate in parallel to the regular armed forces.

The Guards are also responsible for Iran's most significant ballistic missiles including the Shahab-3 longer range missile, whose range has Israel and US bases in the Gulf within reach.

The agency, which is known for its contacts in the security forces, gave no further details on the war games. Such exercises are normally held in the Gulf.

Tensions have risen in recent weeks over Iran's nuclear program, which the West fears could be aimed at making a nuclear weapon but Tehran insists is only aimed at producing energy.

It emerged last month that Iran's arch enemy Israel had carried out maneuvers in Greece that were effectively practice runs for a potential strike against Iranian nuclear facilities.

The United States has also said that the option of military force remains on the table but Iran has warned in return that any aggression against its soil will be met with a crushing response.