Iran confirms missile tests

TEHRAN, July 13 (UPI) -- Iranian officials have confirmed to CNN the country tested its missiles last week.

Two Iranian officials told CNN Saturday missiles were test-fired near the Persian Gulf Wednesday and Thursday. One missile failed to take fight Wednesday, CNN said.

Analysts said the test-firings were meant as a message to Israel and Western powers that any attacks on Iran's nuclear facilities would have destructive consequences.

CNN said Mojtaba Zolnoor, the Iranian supreme leader's representative in the Revolutionary Guards Corps, was quoted Saturday by the semi-official Fars news agency as saying, "As its first response (to a Western strike), Iran will attack the heart of Israel as well as 32 American bases."

The actual prowess of Iran's missiles, however, has been questioned by some experts who contend it isn't as great as the Revolutionary Guard Corps has claimed in Iranian media, which provided the first confirmation of the tests.