Turkish defense ministry says missile destroyed as it approached Turkish airspace after crossing Iraq and Syria.
A ballistic missile fired from Iran and heading into Turkish airspace after passing over Syria and Iraq on Wednesday was destroyed by NATO air defense systems, the Turkish Defense Ministry says.
It was not clear where the missile was aimed.
“A ballistic munition launched from Iran, which was detected passing through Iraqi and Syrian airspace and heading towards Turkish airspace, was engaged in a timely manner by NATO air and missile defense assets stationed in the eastern Mediterranean and rendered inactive,” the ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.
It said there were no casualties or injuries and added that Ankara reserves the right to respond to any hostile actions against. It warned parties in the conflict to refrain from escalating the conflict.
NATO condemned Iran’s targeting of Turkey. Spokesperson Allison Hart said the alliance “stands firmly with all Allies, including Turkey”.
“Our deterrence and defense posture remains strong across all domains, including when it comes to air and missile defense,” Hart said.
Turkish Foreign Ministers Hakan Fidan issued a protest to his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi in a phone call over the ballistic missile fired from Iran which was heading towards Turkish airspace, Reuters reported.
During the call, Fidan told Araghchi that any steps that could further widen the conflict must be avoided, the agency reported.
Incirlik Air Base in Turkey is used primarily the US and other NATO allies. The base is under the control of the Turkish air force but operates as a joint Turkish-US airbase.
Turkey refused the US permission to use it for the US-led 2003 invasion of Iraq, but it was heavily used for anti-ISIS strikes from 2014.
Cyprus temporarily closes airspace
Also Wednesday, authorities in Cyprus closed the airspace above Larnaca after detecting what they said was a suspicious object.
On Sunday, an Iranian-made drone caused minor damage at a United Kingdom military base on the eastern Mediterranean island while two drones were shot down on Monday.
Britain is deploying a warship and helicopters to Cyprus, the British government and Greece and France have agreed to send frigates to Cyprus as global concern mounts over the spread of the US-Israel attacks on Iran and retaliatory Iranian strikes across the region
France will also send additional land-based, anti-drone and anti-missile systems to the country. Reports said that Germany also responded positively to a request to send a warship.
Romania urges ‘temporary ceasefire’ to evacuate civilians from Middle East
