The Iranian navy plans to hold more than a week of war games in the Gulf, just days after the Revolutionary Guards wrapped up another round of military exercises.

Habibollah Sayari, the Iranian navy commander, told the state-run Arabic-language Al Alam television channel on Tuesday that the exercises would display Iran's "defensive and deterrent" naval power.

The games will begin on Wednesday and last for eight days, covering more than 250,000km of Iranian waters.

Iran routinelyconducts war gamesin the Gulf, but it has stepped up its demonstrations over the last few months in what analysts say is a push to deter US or Israeli strikes against Iran's nuclear facilities.

The Guards had conducted exercises in the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz between April 22 and 25. State media said they tested missiles and a new speedboat.

Iran has warned that it will close the strait if it is attacked. Roughly 40 per cent of the world's oil supplies pass through the strait each day.

A five-day exercise in Novemberdemonstrated the defences around Iran's nuclear facilities.

The Iranian military also recently unveiled a new air defence system, the S-200, during last month's Army Day parade in Tehran.

Iran wants to buy a more advanced S-300 system from Russia, and signed a $730m contract in 2007 to buy the missiles. But Moscow, under pressure from the US and Israel, has repeatedly delayed the deal.