The Turkish Defense Ministry reported this Monday that a missile launched from Iran was shot down by NATO defensive systems upon entering the turkish airspacein the fourth such episode since the war in Iran began a month ago.
“A ballistic missile fired from Iran and entering Turkish airspace was intercepted by NATO air and missile defenses deployed in the eastern Mediterranean,” said a statement from the Turkish Ministry.
The note does not specify the region in which the missile was intercepted or what its target could have been.
He first missile Iranian headed towards Türkiye It was intercepted on March 4 over the Mediterranean province of Hatay and remains of the interceptor rocket fell about 65 kilometers east of the Incirlik military base, used by NATO.
And second missile was intercepted on March 9and one of its pieces impacted near the city of Gaziantep, 170 kilometers east of the same base, while the tercer episode took place last March 13.
In that case, no impacts of debris were recorded, but numerous Turkish media reported that anti-aircraft warning sirens had been heard in the city of Adana, near where Incirlik is located, and images of a luminous body in the sky, supposedly recorded in that area, circulated on social networks.
Ankara has strongly protested to Tehran for these incidents, but the Iranian government denies that it has fired missiles into Turkish territory and promises to investigate the incidents.
The Turkish Foreign Minister, Hakan Fidan, stressed on March 14 that his Iranian counterpart, Abás AraqchiI would have assured that Tehran had not ordered these attacks.
“We are discussing with them the discrepancy between their statements and reality,” the Turkish minister said then.
Other missiles
NATO confirmed the March 13 that its air defenses had shot down a third missile ballistic fired from Iran towards Türkiye. “NATO remains vigilant and steadfast in the defense of all its allies,” said NATO spokeswoman Allison Hart.
A few days earlier, Türkiye announced, March 9that NATO air defenses shot down a second missile Iranian ballistic missile that had entered into his airspace and warned that it would take action against any such threat. The incident, which occurred in southern Turkey, involves the interception of a second missile from Iran in the last week.
After that, the president of Iran, Masoud Pezeshkianhe told his Turkish counterpart, Tayyip Erdoganthat Tehran is ready to form a joint team to investigate ‘allegations’ of Iranian missile attacks against Türkiye, Iranian media reported on Monday.
Unlike the first missile, which was shot down outside Türkiye, the second missile entered Turkish airspace. Its fragments fell in a region located between a strategic air base to the west and a radar base to the east, both used by the United States and NATO.
“We reiterate that all necessary measures will be taken decisively and without hesitation against any threat directed at the territory and airspace of our country,” the Turkish Defense Ministry stated, adding that there had been no casualties in the incident.
President Tayyip Erdogan stated that Türkiye had conveyed necessary warnings to Iran following the missile incident. “Iran continues to take wrong and provocative steps”Erdogan said after a cabinet meeting in Ankara.
It was the March 4 when Türkiye said NATO air defenses had destroyed a missile Iranian ballistic missile first— which was headed into Turkish airspace, marking the first time an alliance member was involved in the Middle East conflict.
Turkey, Iran’s neighbor that had attempted to mediate US-Iran talks before the air war, warned “all parties to refrain from actions that could lead to further escalation”, implying that it was not willing to request support from the transatlantic defense bloc.
He stated that Türkiye would continue to take additional measures following the deployment of six F-16 fighter jets to northern Cyprus early on Monday, adding that Turkey’s main objective was to keep the country out of the “fire” of war with Iran.
Leave a Reply