NATO intercepts ‘Iranian missile’ near Türkiye
NATO anti-aircraft systems in the Eastern Mediterranean have shot down an Iranian ballistic missile headed for Türkiye’s airspace, the country’s Defense Ministry has announced.
The projectile was detected traveling through Iraq and Syria and was destroyed in a “timely manner” by the US-led military bloc’s defenses, the Turkish Defense Ministry said on Wednesday.
Debris from the interceptor missile used to destroy the incoming projectile fell in the southern Turkish province of Hatay, although it inflicted no damage on the ground, the ministry noted.
“We urge all parties to refrain from taking steps that would lead to further spread of conflict in the region. We will continue to consult NATO and our other allies in this context,” it added.
Ankara reserves the right to respond to “any hostile actions against our country” and will take every step necessary to “defend our territory and airspace,” the ministry warned.
The Turkish military did not elaborate on where exactly the debris of the shot-down missile crashed or where the projectile was supposedly headed.
Ankara believes the projectile was not aimed at the country, a Turkish official told AFP.
“Turkey was not a target of the missile launched from Iran. We believe it aimed at a base in Cyprus but veered off course,” he explained.
Ankara has distanced itself from the ongoing Israeli-US attacks on Iran, insisting that it has not helped Washington in any fashion. Türkiye “does not permit any of its air, land, or maritime assets, including its airspace, to be used for operational purposes in any conflict or war to which it is not a party,” the country’s Center for Combating Disinformation said on Saturday.
“Claims circulating on certain social media platforms that Türkiye has supported the recent attacks against Iran are entirely unfounded and constitute disinformation aimed at misleading the public,” the body stressed.
