Turkey’s Defence Ministry confirmed on Wednesday that a ballistic missile launched from Iran and aimed at its airspace was intercepted and neutralised by NATO air defence systems deployed in the Eastern Mediterranean.
In an official statement released on social media, the defence ministry said the ballistic threat was detected after passing through Iraqi and Syrian airspace, and that action was taken in time to prevent it from posing a direct risk to Turkish territory. The ministry added that a projectile fragment located in the Dörtyol district of Hatay province in southern Turkey was part of the munition used to intercept the missile after the threat was destroyed in mid-air. There were no fatalities or injuries, the official statement said.
“While Türkiye stands on the side of regional stability and peace, it is fully capable of safeguarding its territory and citizens against threats from any actor or direction. Every necessary step for the defense of our land and airspace will be taken resolutely and without hesitation. We remind that our right to respond to any hostile act against our country remains reserved. We call on all parties to refrain from steps that could further escalate the conflict in the region. In this context, we will continue consultations with NATO and our other allies.” the statement concluded.
Turkish Presidential Communications Minister Burhanettin Duran confirmed that Turkish institutions followed the incident “in real time” and maintained full coordination on the matter, adding that Ankara will continue consultations and cooperation with the Atlantic Alliance and its allied countries, while reiterating warnings against any action that could raise tension in the region and escalate the clashes, reiterating that Turkey will respond to any hostile act within the framework of international law and maintain coordination with NATO.
Turkish foreign minister protests to Iran
According to foreign ministry sources quoted by Turkish media, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan telephoned his Iranian counterpart Abbas Erakçi after the accident. During the conversation, Fidan conveyed Turkey’s protest at the ballistic missile detected in the direction of its airspace after being launched from Iran and subsequently neutralised, and stressed to his Iranian counterpart that Tehran must avoid any action that could provoke the expansion of the conflict.
Following the incident, NATO spokeswoman Allison Hart expressed the Atlantic Alliance’s condemnation in a public statement: “We condemn Iran’s targeting of Türkiye. NATO stands with all its allies, including Turkey, in the face of Iran’s continued indiscriminate attacks across the region. Our deterrent posture remains strong in all areas, including air and missile defense”.
Iran has launched nearly half a thousand missiles against countries in the region
According to data released by the Turkish news agency İHA, as part of retaliatory strikes against US and Israeli interests in the region – especially following the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei – Iran has launched a total of 468 ballistic missiles against the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Kuwait. Qatar has confirmed in an official statement the detection of 101 ballistic missiles launched by Iran, of which 98 were intercepted; Qatar also detected 39 drones of which 24 were shot down, as well as 3 cruise missiles and 2 Soviet-made Sukhoi SU-24 aircraft, who also were detected and intercepted.
Bahrain reported the destruction of 73 missiles and 91 drones launched from Iran, while Kuwait said 178 ballistic missiles and 384 unmanned aerial vehicles were detected and intercepted. Saudi Arabia and Oman have not released data, while the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Ministry of Defence said in a statement that, since the start of the Iranian strikes, 189 missiles were detected targeting the country, of which 175 were destroyed, 13 fell into the sea and one hit UAE territory.
Fidan: “The war is spreading across the Middle East“
In an interview with Turkish state broadcaster TRT Haber last night, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan described Iran’s strategy of bombing Gulf countries “without making any distinction” as “an incredibly wrong strategy”. “When we look at the effects of the war, as we had predicted before, it is spreading throughout the Middle East,” he warned.
“Iran knows very well how vital the energy infrastructure of key countries in the region is for the global economy, stability and energy security, and carries out its attacks accordingly,” the Turkish foreign minister stressed.
The head of Turkish diplomacy also confirmed that several Gulf countries had tried to avert the conflict, and referred specifically to Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, who he said had maintained mediation efforts until shortly before the first attacks. “They were actually acting in a way that would have benefited Iran… And despite that, Iran’s bombing of Oman as a mediating country, of Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Jordan, of all these places without making any distinction, in my opinion, is an incredibly misguided strategy,” he said.
Fidan also referred to a telephone conversation on 27 January – a day before Israel and the US launched their strikes on Iran – between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and US President Donald Trump, noting that the White House was at the time about to make a decision on the attack. After a series of diplomatic contacts, including Fidan’s own meeting in Istanbul on 30 January with his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi, the US tried to resolve the dispute with Iran by issuing an ultimatum that included four demands to Tehran; the Iranian regime – according to Fidan – was unwilling to accept them, and Washington then decided to launch its offensive on Iran.
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Edited and reviewed by:
Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
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