London:  A defence analyst said today that Iran had apparently doctored photographs of missile test-firings and exaggerated the capabilities of the weapons.

Iran yesterday test-fired nine missiles, including a Shahab-3 it said was capable of reaching Israel, angering the United States amid fears that the standoff over the Islamic republic's contested nuclear drive could lead to war.

Photographs published on the Iranian Revolutionary Guards website showed four missiles taking off from a desert launchpad.

But one of the missiles had apparently been added to the photograph using elements from the smoke trail and dust clouds from two of the other missiles.

After being shown the photograph by AFP, Mark Fitzpatrick of the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) said: "It very much does appear that Iran doctored the photo to cover up what apparently was a misfiring of one of the missiles.

"The whole purpose of this testing was to send a signal so Iran both exaggerated the capabilities of the missile in their prose and apparently doctored the photos as well."

In Washington, a US intelligence official also urged caution about information released by Iran.

"While I cannot comment one way or the other on these particular photos, it would be wrong to assume that the US intelligence community accepts at face value what the Iranians disclose about their missile tests," the official said.

Source : PTI