Published on •Updated
NATO forces have intercepted an Iranian missile heading to Türkiye for the second time in less than a week, as US-Israeli strikes on Iran throw the wider Middle East into conflict.
Last Wednesday, Türkiye’s Ministry of Defence said it intercepted an Iranian ballistic missile headed toward Turkish airspace close to the Syria border.
Confirming the incident, NATO spokesperson Allison Hart said “NATO stands firm in its readiness to defend all Allies against any threat”.
According to NATO sources, there is as yet no indication Türkiye is triggering formal proceedings within the alliance to initiate action against Iran.
However, the Turkish government summoned Iran’s ambassador to Ankara for a formal rebuke over the incident.
The US has a military presence at the Incirlik airbase in the south of the country.
“NATO has been clear it has strong interception capabilities”, Colonel Martin O’Donnell, spokesperson for the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe, told Euronews, saying that while Iran is “targeting the US footprint in various countries” it is also attacking public spaces “indiscriminately”.
While NATO has increased its security posture to a heightened level until the threat subsides, O’Donnell reiterated NATO’s position that it is not a party to the conflict, despite the fact the conflict is being prosecuted by the US, the alliance’s most powerful member by far.
“The Secretary General has been clear that NATO is not part of this war, but NATO will defend itself”, he said, speaking to Euronews from NATO HQ in Brussels on Monday.