Iran denies firing missiles at Turkey after NATO interdiction | Conflict news

Turkey’s defense ministry said a ballistic missile fired from Iran towards Turkish airspace was destroyed by NATO air and missile defense systems over the eastern Mediterranean.

Iran’s armed forces have denied firing any missiles toward Turkish territory, adding that Iran respects Turkey’s sovereignty, state media said in a statement.

Iran’s statement on Thursday came after Turkey’s Ministry of National Defense said Wednesday that NATO air and missile defense systems over the eastern Mediterranean had destroyed a ballistic missile fired from Iran toward Turkish airspace after passing through Syria and Iraq.

It was not clear where the missile was aimed.

“A ballistic missile launched from Iran was detected passing through the airspace of Iraq and Syria and heading towards the airspace of Turkey, NATO air and missile defense assets stationed in the eastern Mediterranean were engaged and disabled in a timely manner,” the ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.

It said there were no casualties or injuries, adding that Ankara reserved the right to respond to any countermeasures against it, but warned the parties not to escalate the conflict.

In an evening address to the nation, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the country was “taking all necessary precautions” in consultation with its NATO allies and “is issuing warnings in clear terms to prevent similar incidents from happening again”.

“If we, as a nation, want to live in peace and tranquility… we must continuously enhance our deterrence capabilities. In these difficult times… we are leaving absolutely nothing in the way of security of our borders and airspace,” he said.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan on Wednesday called for protests from his Iranian counterpart Ankara, Reuters news agency reported.

NATO condemned Turkey’s targeting of Iran, spokeswoman Allison Hart said, adding that the organization “stands firmly with all allies, including Turkey.”

“Our deterrence and defense posture is strong in all domains, when it comes to air and missile defense,” Hart said.

United States Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said there was “no sense” that the destruction of a ballistic missile would trigger NATO’s Article 5, which states that an attack on one NATO member is an attack on all members.

Incirlik Air Base in Turkey is used by foreign military forces, primarily the US and other NATO allies. The base is under the control of the Turkish Air Force but serves as a joint Turkish-US airbase.

Incirlik was a critical logistics and air support location for US-led operations in Iraq during the 1991 Gulf War, and later a cargo hub for operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Turkey denied US permission for the US-led 2003 invasion of Iraq, but since 2014 it has been increasingly used for anti-ISIL (ISIS) attacks.