The state-run TV said that among the other weapons tested during the manoeuvres was the Shahab-2, which Iran says has a cluster warhead that can send 1,400 bomblets at the same time.

Solid-fuel Zalzal missiles also were launched, as were guided missiles as well as Scud-B, Zolfaghar-73 and Z-3, it said.

The manoeuvres came as the UN Security Council considered sanctions on Iran over its nuclear programme, which Tehran says is purely geared at civilian use but that the US and other western powers fear could hide research on an atomic bomb.

Iran has said that the US-led six-nation drills this week in the region would not improve security in the Gulf waters, through which about 20 percent of the world's oil passes.

It also called on Gulf nations to set up their own regional security arrangements.

The US-led manoeuvres focused on surveillance, with warships tracking a ship suspected of carrying components of illegal weapons.

The nations that took part were Australia, Bahrain, Britain, France, Italy and the United States.

Iran regularly holds large manoeuvres, often using them to test weapons developed by its arms industry.

He was referring to a draft UN Security Council resolution tabled by Britain, France and Germany, which seeks to punish Iran for its defiance of a UN demand it halt uranium enrichment activities.

"The EU3 draft resolution goes far beyond the framework of agreements" among the six major nations that have offered Iran a package of incentives and multilateral talks in exchange for a freeze on its enrichment work, Lavrov said. But he added: "We are working on the text of the resolution."

The United States is seeking to impose sanctions on Iran through the UN Security Council on the grounds that Tehran is developing a nuclear-weapons program under the garb of a civilian-use program. Iran, however, says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only.

Lavrov said last month that Russia will oppose any attempts to use the UN Security Council to punish Iran for its nuclear program.

Russian President Vladimir Putin told his Iranian counterpart Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in a telephone conversation on Monday that Moscow favored further talks on Iran's nuclear program.

Tehran has said it wants talks with the major nations, but will not suspend its nuclear work as a prerequisite.

Iran, which failed to meet a UN Security Council deadline for suspending its enrichment work by Aug. 31, said on Friday it had fed gas into a second cascade of centrifuges at a uranium enrichment facility.

"Besides Shahab-3, the Shahab-2 whose warhead can send 1,400 bomb lets at the same time, as well as some other short-range missiles, such as Zolfaghar-73, Scud B, Fath-110 and Zelzal were also launched in the presence of General Seyed Yahya Rahim Safavi, and other high-ranking commanders, said the report.

It was the first time for Iran to test Shahab-3 in military exercises and top officers have said they would employ other "new equipment" during the drills.

Earlier on Wednesday, Major General Safavi, Commander-in-Chief of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), said the 10-day maneuvers dubbed "The Great Prophet 2" would be carried out in the Gulf waters, the Sea of Oman and 14 of the country's provinces. But he didn't disclose how many Iranian troops participated in the drills.

"The foremost goal of the maneuvers is to show Iran's firm determination to defend the country against any possible threats," Safavi said, adding the war games are not a threat to neighboring countries.

He made the remarks after the U.S.-led warships staged a two-day maneuvers in the Gulf waters aimed at blocking smuggling of nuclear weapons material and arms proliferation.

Commenting on the U.S.-led maneuvers, Safavi said, "It is a propaganda and political maneuver without military value."

"If forces from out of the region want to endanger Iran's security and interests, the Revolution Guards and the Basij (volunteer militia) will use all their capabilities to strike their enemies and their interests," he added.

Iranian government spokesman Gholam-Hossein Elham also said on Monday that foreign military forces should not damage Gulf peace, saying durable peace and security would be restored through collective cooperation of all countries of the region.

This is the third large-scale military exercises held in Iran this year. The Islamic Republic in August launched a large-scale military maneuver named "Zolfaghar Blow", and in April also staged "The Great Prophet 1" drills, during which Iran said it tested advanced weapons including missiles and torpedoes.