The North Atlantic Treaty Organization shot down a ballistic missile that was fired from Iran and headed toward Turkish airspace on Wednesday.
This was the first time the alliance was involved in defending a member state from a projectile launched by Tehran since the US and Israel began attacking the Islamic Republic last week.
“We condemn Iran’s targeting of Türkiye,” NATO spokesperson Allison Hart said in a statement. “NATO stands firmly with all allies, including Türkiye, as Iran continues its indiscriminate attacks across the region.”
The “ballistic munition” flew through Iraqi and Syrian airspace before it was shot down by NATO air defenses stationed in the eastern Mediterranean region, Turkey’s Ministry of Defense said in a statement.
Debris from the interceptor fell in the southern Turkish province of Hatay, the Turkish presidency’s communications director said in a separate statement. There were no casualties.
The incident marks the first time Turkey has found itself embroiled in the conflict, which is now in its fifth day. The NATO member is not a participant in the war and has not allowed its airspace to be used for attacks on Iran.
However, Turkey is home to an early-warning radar system – a critical component of NATO’s ballistic-missile defense – at Kurecik, some 435 miles (700 kilometers) west of the Iranian border. The area where debris from the interceptor fell lies some 60 miles (97 kilometers) east of Turkey’s Incirlik Air Base, where the US has had military assets in the past.
“We remind all parties that we reserve the right to respond to any hostile actions against our country,” the defense ministry said. “We warn all parties to refrain from actions that would lead to further escalation of conflicts in the region.”
According to Turkey’s NTV television station, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan spoke with his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi after the incident and warned against actions that could spread the conflict further across the region.
After the incident, Turkey’s Borsa Istanbul 100 Index pared gains of as much as 1.2% and was trading 0.4% higher as of 3:55 p.m. in Istanbul.