Türkiye says missile launched from Iran destroyed by NATO
The missile, launched from Iran, was heading towards Turkish airspace through Iraq and Syria.
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ISTANBUL: A ballistic missile launched from Iran and heading toward Turkish airspace via Iraq and Syria was destroyed by NATO air defence systems, Turkish officials said on Wednesday (May 4).
The defence ministry said it had been "engaged and neutralised by NATO air-and-missile defence assets deployed in the eastern Mediterranean".
It did not specify the missile's intended target. Iran has been hitting sites across the region in retaliation after the United States and Israel launched strikes against it on Saturday.
A Turkish official, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity, said the missile had been "aimed at a base in Greek Cyprus but veered off course".
Officials said fragments that fell in the Dortyol district in southern Türkiye, near the Syrian border, had been identified as pieces of the interceptor used to neutralise "the threat in the air".
No casualties were reported.
Reacting to the incident, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a call with Türkiye's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan "that attacks on Türkiye's sovereign territory were unacceptable and pledged full support from the US", State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said.
The incident also drew condemnation from NATO.
"NATO stands firmly with all allies, including Turkiye, as Iran continues its indiscriminate attacks across the region," NATO spokeswoman Allison Hart said.
"Our deterrence and defence posture remains strong across all domains, including when it comes to air and missile defence".
The United Arab Emirates "strongly condemned" the missile launch as a "serious escalation", the foreign ministry said in a statement.
Ankara summoned the Iranian ambassador to convey its "reaction and concerns" over the incident while Fidan warned Tehran against steps that could widen the conflict, a diplomatic source said.
Fidan told his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi in a phone call that "any steps that could lead to the spread of conflict should be avoided", the source added.
Iranian news agency Tasnim said Araghchi told Fidan that Iran's retaliatory strikes were aimed at bases used to carry out operations against the Islamic Republic.
Turkiye hosts a number of military facilities used by the US and other NATO allies.
Analysts say the trajectory of the Iranian missile and its destruction by NATO systems further raised the stakes for a widening regional war, even if there is no clear evidence that Iran intended to strike Türkiye.
"Türkiye will not want to become embroiled in the US-Israel attack on Iran, which it has criticised, 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 defence ministry said: "Any steps necessary to defend our territory and airspace will be taken decisively and without hesitation."
"We reserve the right to respond to any hostile actions directed at our country," it added.
Ryan Bohl, senior Middle East and North Africa analyst at risk intelligence firm RANE, said the incident is unlikely to trigger NATO’s collective defence clause, under which an attack on one member is treated as an attack on all.
“The concern about triggering Article Five is it pulls European countries into wars that they certainly don't want to fight,” he told CNA’s Asia First programme.
He added that Turkiye and other NATO members are likely to adopt an approach similar to Gulf states that have also faced Iranian strikes targeting US bases on their soil.
“Looks like they'll have to take a position very similar to the Gulf Arabs – endure Iran’s strikes, hope they can mediate an end to the conflict as soon as possible, and (avoid) getting involved in a ground war that doesn't look like it would have a clean end and would (incur) significant costs.”
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