Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Wednesday that the country successfully launched an advanced surface-to-surface missile with a range of about 2,000 km., the official IRNA news agency reported.

A video frame grab shows an Iranian surface-to-surface Sejil 2 missile flying past a weather balloon as it was launched from a site in Semnan May 20, 2009. Iran launched a missile with a range of close to 2,000 km (1,200 miles) on Wednesday.[Xinhua]

Ahmadinejad made the announcement during his visit to the northern Iranian province of Semnan, where the Sejil 2 missile was launched, IRNA reported.

"The Sejil 2 missile has high technology ... and exactly landed in the pre-planned target," he was quoted as saying.

The Sejil missiles use solid fuel and perform in two stages, which is different from the country's already tested Shehab missiles that utilize liquid fuel and perform in one stage, according to the report.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad gestures as he addresses thousands of people in the northern town of Semnan. Ahmadinejad said Iran has test-fired a new medium-range surface-to-surface missile and again insisted there will be no climbdown over Iran's nuclear programme.[Xinhua]??

In November, Iran's Defense Minister Brigadier General Mostafa Mohammad Najjar announced that the Islamic Republic has successfully test-fired a new generation of surface-to-surface missile, named Sejil.

Sejil had a range of about 1,200 miles (2,000 km), Najjar added.

State television showed the missile being fired from a platform in a desert and soaring into the sky with a long white vapor trail.

Najjar reiterated then that Sejil was manufactured in line with "Iran's detente policy" and only for defensive purposes of its territory and in order to strengthen peace and stability in the region.

Iran had already test-fired its another Shehab-3 missile capable of hitting targets within a range of 2,000 km, vowing that its missile capabilities are "a defensive tool against invasions".

Supporters throw flower petals to greet Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, during his visit to Semnan, Iran, Wednesday May 20, 2009. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says Iran has test-fired a new advanced missile with a range of about 1,200 miles, far enough to strike Israel and southeastern Europe. The solid-fuel Sajjil-2 surface-to-surface missile is a new version of the Sajjil missile, which Iran said it had successfully tested late last year with a similar range. [Xinhua]

(Xinhua News Agency May 20, 2009)