ISTANBUL: Türkiye’s Defence MinistryTürkiye’s Defence Ministry said Monday (Mar 30) that NATO forces had intercepted a new missile fired from Iran – the fourth since the start of the Middle East war.
None of the four projectiles managed to hit Turkish soil, according to the authorities.
“A ballistic munition, which has been determined to have been fired from Iran and to have entered Turkish airspace, was neutralised by NATO air and missile defence forces deployed in the eastern Mediterranean,” said a ministry statement.
A member of the US-led defence alliance, Türkiye, which borders Iran, has been largely spared the sort of retaliation from Tehran suffered by countries in the Middle East.
Long critical of both Iran and Israel, Ankara has sought to avoid being dragged into the war, sparked by US-Israeli strikes on Iran on Feb 28.
“Preventing our country from being dragged into this inferno is our number one priority,” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had declared.
Iran’s embassy in Türkiye has denied that Tehran was behind the four missiles fired at Turkish airspace, and has offered to set up a joint team to investigate the incidents.
Despite that overture, Ankara announced last week that NATO would deploy a new Patriot air-defence battery at southern Türkiye’s Incirlik military base, which hosts US forces.