Iran said Tuesday that it had made a breakthrough in its missile technology by successfully testing its mid-range missile using solid fuel, the official IRNA news agency reported.

"The Shahab-3 missile has been tested using solid fuel, and using solid fuel would increase the range as well as the durability for storage of the missile," Iran's Defense Minister Ali Shamkhani was quoted as saying at a seminar of information and communication technology.

Meanwhile, Shamkhani stated that the Defense Ministry is ready to launch a homemade satellite in less than a year.

Shahab-3 missile, Iran's trump deterrent weapon, has a range of 1,300 km according to the estimation of military experts and is capable of striking Israel or any other enemy target in the region.

It is also believed that solid fuel can make missiles more accurate and deployable.

Shamkhani announced last September that Iran had successfully test-fired a new "strategic" missile and delivered to the armed forces and former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani said one month later that Iran has ballistic missiles with a range of 2,000 km.

Shamkhani also said that Iran had achieved an "effective deterrent power" to confront its enemies in the region.

The US and Israel, accusing Iran of secretly developing atomic weapons, have threatened to launch preemptive attacks on Iran's nuclear facilities.

Source: Xinhua