TEHERAN: Iran launched a missile with a range of close to 2,000 km yesterday and President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said the Islamic state could send any attacker "to hell", official media reported.

The stated range of the surface-to-surface Sejil 2 missile would be almost as far as another Iranian missile, Shahab 3, and analysts say such weaponry could put Israel and US bases in the Gulf within reach.

Ahmadinejad announced the launch in a speech on the same day that a powerful clerical watchdog body signaled the official start of campaigning for next month's presidential election by approving him and three rivals as candidates.