TEHRAN: Iranian scientists have produced the nation's first nuclear fuel rod, a feat of engineering the West has doubted Tehran capable of, the country's nuclear agency said Sunday.

The announcement marks another step in Tehran's efforts to achieve proficiency in the entire nuclear fuel cycle - from exploring uranium ore to producing nuclear fuel - despite UN sanctions and measures by the US and others to get it to halt aspects of its atomic work that could provide a possible pathway to weapons production.

Tehran has long said it is forced to seek a way to manufacture the fuel rods on its own, since the sanctions ban it from buying them on foreign markets.

Nuclear fuel rods are tubes containing pellets of enriched uranium that provide fuel for nuclear reactors.

Iran's atomic energy agency's website said the first domestically made rod has already been inserted into the core of Tehran's research nuclear reactor. But it was unclear if the rod contained pellets or was inserted empty, as part of a test.

"Scientists and researchers at the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran have succeeded in producing and testing the first sample of a nuclear fuel rod," said the announcement.

US and some of its European allies accuse Iran of using its nuclear program as a cover to develop atomic weapons. Iran denies the charge, saying the program is for peaceful purposes only and is geared toward generating electricity and producing medical radioisotopes to treat cancer patients.

Meanwhile, Iran has also test-fired a new mediumrange missile, designed to evade radars, on Sunday during the last days of its naval drill in the Gulf, the official IRNA news agency quoted a military official as saying.

The 10-day naval exercise coincided with increased tension in Iran's nuclear row with Western powers, after the European Union said it was considering a ban - already in place in US - on imports of Iranian oil.

"The mid-range surface to air missile which is equipped with the latest sophisticated anti-radar technologies has been successfully test-fired ," deputy navy Commander Mahmoud Mousavi said.

Iran delayed testing its long-range missiles during the drill, saying the weapons would be launched in next few days.