IRAN SAID TO TEST FIRE SILKWORM MISSILE IN HORMUZ Iran has test-fired its newly acquired Silkworm anti-shipping missile in the Strait of Hormuz and has set up at least two land-based launching sites in the area, a British naval source in the Gulf said. The source, who declined to be identified, said Iran had fired the Chinese-made missile at a hulk off its southern Gulf naval port of Bandar Abbas and scored a hit. "These missiles pack a fairly big punch," he told Reuters. "There is no doubt they could be used to target (shipping) across the Strait of Hormuz." Tension in the Gulf has risen since U.S. Officials last week broke the news that Iran had acquired the Silkworm missiles. The U.S. Has said it will not allow Iran to use the missiles to choke off oil shipments and has offered its warships to escort Kuwaiti tankers past the missile batteries. But Tehran denied last Sunday it intended to threaten Gulf shipping and warned the U.S. Any interference in the region would meet a strong response. The British naval source said the Silkworms were in place at at least two sites around the Strait of Hormuz, but would not give the exact location.