Iranian state television says the country's Revolutionary Guards have test-fired several long-range missiles with the capability of carrying cluster bombs.

The state-owned Al-Alam network says the missiles were launched Thursday from a desert site near the central Iranian town of Qom.

The tests mark the beginning of a 10-day Iranian military exercise that will also include drills in the Persian Gulf and Sea of Oman.

The Iranian report says the missile tests involve the Shahab-3 missile, which has a range of up to 2,000 kilometers.

The Revolutionary Guards are the ideological wing of the Iranian armed forces, and have a separate command structure from the regular army.

Iran is conducting military maneuvers after United States held naval exercises in the Persian Gulf earlier this week. The U.S.-led drills involved 25 nations and were aimed at training forces to block the transport of weapons of mass destruction.