Iran has test-fired a new space rocket, built with North Korean technology, which could be used to deliver nuclear warheads.

The Simorgh space rocket was fired on Tuesday from a secret Iranian missile base.

According to reports, the rocket did not put any satellite into orbit and the launch may not have been a success.

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Iran is believed to have test-fired its Simorgh (Phoenix) rocket, pictured, on Tuesday according to reports

The missile is believed to have been manufactured using North Korean technology exported to Iran

Iran has recently imported the S-300 Grumble air defence system from Russia and paraded sections of the system were paraded in front of the public at a military show in Tehran earlier this month

US State Department official John Kirby told the Washington Beacon he was unable to confirm a missile launch from Iran. 'Obviously we’re watching this as best we can. Certainly if it’s true and we’re talking about a ballistic missile launch or the testing of ballistic missile technologies, that’s obviously of concern to us. It’s not consistent, as we said before, with the Security Council resolution.'

The rocket is believed to be based on North Korean technology and it is feared it is capable of delivering a nuclear warhead.

Earlier this month, the Iranian regime released pictures of its newly purchased S-300 air defence system.

The weapon, known as the Grumble, was sold to Tehran by Russia. The Iranian regime also wants to buy the Sukhoi SU-30 fighter from Moscow.

Speaking at a military parade, President Hassan Rouhani said: 'Our military, political and economic power is not directed against neighbouring countries and the countries of the Islamic world.

'When Baghdad was threatened by terrorists, the Islamic Republic of Iran responded to the call of the people, the army and the Iraqi government to defend Baghdad and the holy places.'

Republican Senator Tom Cotton from Arkansas said: 'An Iranian Simorgh space launch vehicle test would be a provocation of the highest order and shows Iran’s true intentions. The intelligence community has said publicly that this [space launch vehicle] technology would aid an Iranian [intercontinental ballistic missile] program. And the only reason one develops ICBMs is the delivery of nuclear weapons.'

President Barack Obama is travelling to the Middle East today to meet officials from six Arab nations to discuss regional security issues and the threat posed by ISIS.

The meetings in Riyadh on Thursday are meant to build on a similar summit convened last year at Camp David, the American president's Maryland retreat. They reflect an effort by the White House to reassure and coordinate with important but wary Mideast allies that oppose Obama's outreach to Iran and U.S. policy toward the grinding civil war in Syria.

The summit with the U.S.-allied countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council follows bilateral talks that Obama held with Saudi King Salman on Wednesday shortly after arriving in the kingdom. Besides Saudi Arabia, the GCC includes the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain.

The White House said the summit meeting will include three sessions. One is aimed at fostering regional stability and another at counterterrorism efforts including efforts to defeat al-Qaida and ISIS. A third session will focus on Iran, which Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states see as a destabilizing rival in the region.