ANKARA, March 30 (Reuters) – A ballistic missile fired from Iran entered Turkish airspace on Monday and was shot down by NATO defences, Ankara said, in the fourth such incident reported since the start of the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.
There was no immediate comment from Tehran which has denied specifically targeting its neighbour Turkey during the conflict and has said it was not involved in the previous three missile launches, which were all downed by NATO defences.
NATO’s spokesperson said the alliance intercepted an Iranian missile heading towards its member country Turkey, adding that it was “prepared for such threats and will always do what is necessary to defend all Allies”.
Iran has fired missiles at countries across the Middle East since the start of the conflict, striking oil infrastructure and bases with U.S. forces in the region.
Turkey’s defence ministry did not say where it thought the missile was heading on Monday.
Turkey’s Incirlik Air Base in the southern Adana province hosts U.S., Turkish, Polish, Qatari and other personnel.
U.S. personnel are also stationed at NATO’s Kurecik radar station in Turkey’s southeastern Malatya province where the alliance recently deployed a Patriot missile defence system.
Separately, Turkey’s Chief of the General Staff, General Selcuk Bayraktaroglu, held a video conference with NATO Military Committee Chair Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone on Monday, to discuss regional defence and security issues, the defence ministry said.
The ministry said all necessary measures were being taken “decisively and without hesitation” against any threat directed at Turkey’s territory and airspace.
The incident comes after talks in Islamabad at the weekend between the top diplomats of Turkey, Pakistan, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia on potential ways to end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz to shipping.
Turkey had offered and tried to mediate between Iran and the United States before the war started at the end of last month.
Ankara has repeatedly called for an end to the conflict, criticised the U.S.-Israeli attacks as illegal, and described Iran’s attacks on regional countries as unacceptable.
(Reporting by Ece Toksabay and Tuvan Gumrukcu; Editing by Jonathan Spicer and Andrew Heavens)
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