A ballistic missile launched from Iran and headed toward Turkish airspace over Iraq and Syria was destroyed by NATO air defense systems, Turkish officials said Wednesday.
The Ministry of Defense said it had been “engaged and neutralized by NATO air and missile defense assets deployed in the eastern Mediterranean.”
He did not specify the missile’s intended target.
A Turkish official, who spoke to AFP on condition of anonymity, said the missile had “targeted a base in Greek Cyprus, but veered off course.”
Officials said the fragments that fell in the Dortyol district in southern Turkey, near the Syrian border, had been identified as pieces of the interceptor used to neutralize “the threat in the air.”
No victims were reported.
The incident sparked condemnation from NATO.
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“NATO stands firmly with all allies, including Turkiye, as Iran continues its indiscriminate attacks throughout the region,” NATO spokeswoman Allison Hart said, using Turkey’s official name.
“Our deterrence and defense posture remains strong across the board, including with respect to air and missile defense.”
Ankara summoned the Iranian ambassador to convey “our reaction and concern” over the incident, while Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan warned Tehran against measures that could widen the conflict, a diplomatic source said.
Fidan told his Iranian counterpart in a phone call that “any measure that could lead to the spread of the conflict must be avoided,” the source added.
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‘Wrong strategy’
Türkiye, a Sunni Muslim-majority NATO member, shares a 500-kilometer (315-mile) border with Iran.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who maintains good relations with US President Donald Trump despite his frequent criticism of Israel, has insisted that Saturday’s US-Israeli attacks, which sparked the war and prompted retaliation from Tehran, were “illegal”.
In an interview on Tuesday night, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan also criticized Iran’s indiscriminate retaliatory strikes in the Gulf States, calling them a “wrong strategy.”
“The underlying strategy seems to be: ‘If I’m going to go down, I’m going to take the region with me,'” Fidan added.
Analysts say the trajectory of the Iranian missile and its destruction by NATO systems further raise the risks of a widening regional war, even if there is no clear evidence that Iran intended to attack Turkey.
“Turkey will not want to become embroiled in the US-Israeli attack on Iran, which it has criticized, but if Iran launches more missiles clearly aimed at targets on Turkish territory, Ankara will consider its own direct retaliation,” said Hamish Kinnear of risk intelligence firm Verisk Maplecroft.
The Ministry of Defense stated that “any measures necessary to defend our territory and airspace will be taken decisively and without hesitation.”
“We reiterate that we reserve the right to respond to any hostile action directed at our country,” he added.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP)
