Tehran, May 10,The Iran Project - US Republican Senator John McCain says President Barack Obama must end diplomatic overtures to Iran and develop a new strategy to combat Tehran’s influence in the region.

Hawkish Republican Sen. McCain made the remarks in a statement on Monday. His statement came amid media reports that Iran has conducted a medium-range ballistic missile test, Something Iran denied.

McCain said:

"It is long past time for the Obama administration to disenthrall itself with the dangerous illusion of a new relationship with Iran and adopt a comprehensive strategy to counter Iran's malign influence and protect America’s national security interests."

Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Hossein Dehqan on the sidelines of a ceremony in Tehran Monday denied  media reports on recent test-firing of a 2000km range ballistic missile, stating “We had no missile test with a range published in media.”

Tasnim News Agency had earlier on Monday quoted Deputy Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Brigadier General Ali Abdollahi as saying that, “Two weeks ago, we tested a missile with a range of 2,000 kilometers and an error margin of eight meters.”

[caption id="attachment_205430" align="aligncenter" width="535"] A long-range Qadr ballistic missile is launched in the Alborz mountain range in northern Iran on March 9, 2016.[/caption]

Earlier on Friday, the White House and the departments of State and Defense all said they had not been able to verify reports that Iran had conducted a test.

Iran regularly conducts ballistic missile tests in a demonstration of the country's deterrent power. Tehran has repeatedly announced that such tests do not violate the last July’s nuclear agreement between Iran and six global powers and are not in breach of a United Nations Security Council resolution, which endorsed the deal.

Iran regularly conducts ballistic missile tests in a demonstration of the country's deterrent power. Tehran has repeatedly announced that such tests do not violate the last July’s nuclear agreement between Iran and six global powers and are not in breach of a United Nations Security Council resolution, which endorsed the deal.