ANKARA: NATO air defence systems intercepted a ballistic missile launched from Iran after it entered the airspace of Turkey, the Turkish defence ministry said on Friday.
According to a statement issued by the ministry, the ballistic munition was neutralised by NATO air and missile defence assets deployed in the eastern Mediterranean. The incident marks the third reported interception of a missile linked to the ongoing Middle East conflict.
Hours earlier, warning sirens sounded at Incirlik Air Base near the southern city of Adana, a key NATO installation hosting United States forces, according to the state news agency Anadolu Agency.
NATO air defences had previously intercepted a ballistic missile launched from Iran on March 4, followed by another interception earlier this week.
Residents of Adana reported hearing sirens at around 3:25 am local time, with several witnesses sharing footage showing a fast-moving object in the night sky that appeared to be on fire.
According to the defence news outlet SavunmaSanayiST, the fiery object could have been fragments of the missile or the interceptor missile burning as it entered the atmosphere.
Iran’s embassy in Ankara denied the allegations, stating that no projectile had been fired toward Turkish territory.
However, analysts questioned the claim. Security expert Sinan Ulgen of Carnegie Europe said repeated incidents made it unlikely that the missile entries were accidental.
Regional tensions rise
Security sources quoted by Turkish media said Ankara was acting cautiously to avoid being drawn directly into the widening Middle East conflict.
However, officials also warned that Turkey’s patience was not unlimited and that it would not hesitate to take necessary measures if similar incidents continued.
Following Monday’s incident, the United States temporarily closed its consulate in Adana and advised its citizens to leave southeastern Turkey.
The Incirlik base has long served as a strategic NATO facility and hosts US troops as well as military personnel from Spain and Poland. Analysts say the base is also believed to store 50 to 60 US tactical nuclear weapons.
Meanwhile, US personnel are also stationed at the Kürecik Radar Base in Malatya, where an early-warning radar system forms a key element of NATO’s missile defence shield designed to detect potential missile launches from Iran.