NATO intercepts second Iran missile in Turkish airspace

NATO said it shot down a second ballistic missile fired from Iran in Turkish airspace on Monday, prompting a stern warning from Turkey to Tehran not to take “provocative steps”.

It was the second such incident in the skies over NATO member Turkey in five days, leading the alliance to stress its readiness “to defend all allies against any threat”.

Washington meanwhile urged all American citizens to leave southeastern Turkey, where US troops are stationed at several bases.

Since the US-Israeli attacks began, Iran has retaliated with strikes across the Middle East in a bid to hit American assets. But Turkey appears to have been spared, despite the presence of US troops, including at Incirlik airbase just outside the southern city of Adana.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said after the missile incident the country would “take the necessary measures to defend our nation”.

“Despite our sincere warnings, extremely wrong and provocative steps continue to be taken that will jeopardise Turkey’s friendship,” he said after a cabinet meeting.

“Persistence and stubbornness in wrongdoing should be avoided.”

Turkey summoned the Iranian ambassador over the incident, foreign ministry sources said.

It did the same on March 4 after NATO forces also intercepted a Turkey-bound ballistic missile launched from Iran.

– ‘Neutralised’ –

The United States closed its consulate in Adana and advised non-essential staff and all family members to leave.

The US embassy in Turkey referenced a State Department travel advisory saying: “Americans in southeast Turkey are strongly encouraged to depart now.”

Barely an hour later, Turkey’s defence ministry confirmed the ballistic missile fired from Iran had been intercepted by NATO defence systems.

“A ballistic munition launched from Iran and entering Turkish airspace was neutralised by NATO air and missile defence assets in the eastern Mediterranean,” it said.

The military alliance confirmed the information.

“NATO has again intercepted a missile heading to Turkiye. NATO stands firm in its readiness to defend all Allies against any threat,” spokeswoman Allison Hart said on X, using Turkey’s official name.

Incirlik air base is an important NATO facility that has been used by US troops for decades.

Also Monday, Turkey deployed six F-16 fighter jets to Northern Cyprus as a security measure, days after the island was hit by a drone attack. Nicosia said the Iranian-made drone was probably fired by Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah, and not from Iran.

– Fragments hit construction site –

Some fragments from the munition fired on Monday fell in open territory in the Gaziantep area, about 200 kilometres (120 miles) east of Adana, causing no injuries, Turkey’s defence ministry said.

“At around 11:30 am (0830 GMT), a fragment of ballistic munition fell onto an empty area above the TOKI housing estate,” the Gaziantep governor’s office said, adding there was no damage.

Images appeared to show the fragment on ground at a building site.

“We were sitting at home when suddenly we heard a big bang. Since there’s a construction site here, we thought the noise was coming from there. But when we came and looked, we saw the missile fragment,” resident Ramazan Akpinar told DHA news agency.

After the March 4 missile interception over Turkey, NATO said it was strengthening its “ballistic missile defence posture”.

Spanish Defence Minister Margarita Robles said the earlier missile had been spotted by Spanish troops manning a Patriot missile battery, who are based at Incirlik.

They had “detected and reported the missile attack”, though they were not the ones that shot it down, she said.