Pentagon Press Secretary Geoff Morrell today expressed concern over Iran’s reported test-fire yesterday of a medium-range missile, saying it undermines Tehran’s claim of peaceful intentions regarding its nuclear program.

Morrell said Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates has seen the intelligence on the launch, which reportedly involved a Sajjil-2 rocket that has the range to hit Israel and U.S. bases in the Persian Gulf.

“This is just the latest in a series of provocative actions by Iran, all seemingly oblivious to the scrutiny of the international community, or perhaps more likely, in spite of it,” Morrell told Pentagon reporters today.

The test-fire comes after President Barack Obama last month underscored that the government in Tehran must provide assurances to the international community that Iran’s nuclear program is peaceful and transparent.  [Def Pros]

For those wondering the Sajjil-2 is a solid fuel missile with a range of approximately 1,200 miles (1,930 km).  Solid fuel missiles are important to note because they can be more easily moved around and launched because you don’t have to worry about fueling the missile before launch.  This was the third test of the Sajjil-2 since this past May.  So it is pretty clear that the Iranians are committed to getting this missile developed as quickly as possible no matter what international criticism they may receive.

This image gives a pretty good indication of how far this missile can reach:

As you can see this missile can easily range Israel.

Iran said it successfully test-fired the longest-range missiles in its arsenal on Monday, weapons capable of carrying a warhead and striking Israel, U.S. military bases in the Middle East, and parts of Europe.

State television said the powerful Revolutionary Guard, which controls Iran’s missile program, successfully tested the medium-range Shahab-3 and Sajjil missiles with can fly up to 1,200 miles (2,000 kilometers). It was the third round of missile tests in two days of drills by the Guard.

The Sajjil-2 missile is Iran’s most advanced two-stage surface-to-surface missile and is powered entirely by solid-fuel while the older Shahab-3 uses a combination of solid and liquid fuel in its most advanced form.

Solid fuel is seen as a technological breakthrough for any missile program as solid fuel increases the accuracy of missiles in reaching targets.

The war games come at a time when Iran is under intense international pressure to fully disclose its nuclear activities. They began Sunday, two days after the U.S. and its allies disclosed that Iran had been secretly developing an underground uranium enrichment facility and warned the country it must open the site to international inspection or face harsher international sanctions.

Gen. Hossein Salami, head of the Revolutionary Guard Air Force, said Sunday the drills were meant to show Tehran is prepared to crush any military threat from another country.  [Associated Press]

Here are the missiles Iran tested earlier this week:

Iran also is developing ballistic missiles that could carry a nuclear warhead, but the administration said last week that it believes that effort has been slowed. That assessment paved the way for Obama’s decision to shelve the Bush administration’s plan for a missile shield in Europe, which was aimed at defending against Iranian ballistic missiles.

State media reported tests overnight of the Shahab-1 and Shahab-2 missiles, with ranges of 185 miles (300 kilometers) and 435 miles (700 kilometers) respectively.

That followed tests early Sunday of the short range Fateh and Tondar missiles, which have a range of 120 miles (193 kilometers) and 93 miles (150 kilometers) respectively.

Iran’s last known missile tests were in May when it fired its longest-range solid-fuel missile, Sajjil-2. Tehran said the two-stage surface-to-surface missile has a range of about 1,200 miles (1,900 kilometers) — capable of striking Israel, U.S. Mideast bases and southeastern Europe.