️ Iran's Armed Forces have issued a formal denial, carried by state media, asserting that no missiles were fired towards Turkish territory and insisting that Iran respects Turkey's sovereignty. This statement comes in response to claims from Turkey's Ministry of National Defence that a ballistic missile launched from Iran, after passing through Syrian and Iraqi airspace towards Turkey, was destroyed by NATO air and missile defence systems over the eastern Mediterranean on Wednesday.
️ The Turkish defence ministry stated that the ballistic munition was detected traversing Iraqi and Syrian airspace en route to Turkish airspace, where it was "engaged in a timely manner" by NATO assets stationed in the region and "rendered inactive." It remains unclear what the missile's intended target was, and the ministry confirmed no casualties or injuries resulted from the incident. However, Ankara reserved the right to respond to any hostile actions against it, while issuing warnings to parties to refrain from escalating tensions.
️ In a national address, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared that the country is "taking all the necessary precautions" in consultation with its NATO allies and delivering "warnings in the clearest terms to prevent similar incidents from happening again." He emphasized, "If we, as a nation, want to live in peace and tranquillity… we must constantly increase our deterrent capabilities. In these difficult times … we are leaving absolutely nothing to chance regarding the security of our borders and airspace."
️ Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan reportedly conveyed Ankara's protest to his Iranian counterpart in a call on Wednesday. NATO spokesperson Allison Hart condemned Iran's targeting of Turkey, stating that the alliance "stands firmly with all Allies, including Turkey" and that "our deterrence and defence posture remains strong across all domains, including when it comes to air and missile defence." U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth indicated there was "no sense" that the missile's destruction would trigger NATO's Article 5, which mandates collective defence.
️ The incident occurred near Incirlik Air Base in Turkey, a facility used by foreign military forces, primarily the U.S. and other NATO allies. Although under Turkish air force control, it operates as a joint Turkish-U.S. airbase. Incirlik has historically served as a critical logistics and support hub for U.S.-led operations, including during the 1991 Gulf War and anti-ISIL campaigns from 2014, though Turkey denied its use for the 2003 Iraq invasion.
Source: www.aljazeera.com