By Tuvan Gumrukcu
ANKARA, March 9 (Reuters) – Turkey said on Monday that NATO air defences shot down a second Iranian ballistic missile that had entered its airspace and warned that it would move against any such threats, which increasingly pose a test for Ankara and the alliance.
The incident in southern Turkey marks the second intercepted missile from Iran in the last week. Turkey, NATO’s second-largest army and Iran’s neighbour, had warned Tehran on Saturday against attacking again, but it has not suggested it wants to formally call on bloc members for further protection.
A NATO spokesperson confirmed that the alliance had intercepted a missile heading to Turkey, and that it stood firm in its readiness to defend allies.
Unlike last week’s incoming missile, which was downed outside Turkey, the latest missile entered Turkish airspace. Its fragments fell in a region sitting between a critical airbase to the west and a radar base to the east, both of which are used by the United States and NATO.
“We once again emphasise that all necessary measures will be taken decisively and without hesitation against any threat directed at our country’s territory and airspace,” the Turkish Defence Ministry said, adding there had been no casualties in the incident.
“We also reiterate that it is in everyone’s interest to heed Turkey’s warnings in this regard,” it said.
President Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey had delivered the necessary warnings to Iran after the missile incident.
“Iran continues to take wrong and provocative steps,” Erdogan said after a cabinet meeting in Ankara.
He said that Turkey would continue to take additional measures after deploying six F-16 fighter jets to northern Cyprus earlier on Monday, adding that Turkey’s main goal was to keep the country out of the “blaze” of the Iran war.
RELIANCE ON NATO DEFENCES
Turkey, an emerging leader in the global defence industry, lacks its own fully fledged air defences despite development efforts, and has relied on NATO air defences stationed in the eastern Mediterranean Sea in both incidents in the last week.
Turkey did not immediately comment on any formal steps within NATO.
It had previously said it had no intention of invoking the bloc’s Article 4 that would call allies to consult if a member is threatened. That could lead to Article 5, which would call NATO to defend its attacked ally.
President Tayyip Erdogan’s office said Ankara was strongly reiterating its warning to all parties, namely Iran, to avoid endangering regional stability and civilians.
It was unclear where the missile was headed.
U.S. air forces are stationed at Turkey’s Incirlik base, and there is a NATO radar base in Malatya province to the northeast that provides vital protection for the alliance. Ankara said the missile debris fell in empty fields in Gaziantep, which sits roughly between the two.
The U.S. embassy in Turkey ordered non-emergency government employees and families to leave its southern Adana consulate, where service was suspended, and it strongly encouraged Americans to leave southeast Turkey.
Ankara says that Washington has not used Incirlik in its air assault, alongside Israel, on Iran, which triggered Tehran’s missile and drone attacks.
Iran did not immediately comment on the incident, but it has said repeatedly that it is not at war with regional countries and is not explicitly targeting Turkey.
Turkey had sought to mediate U.S.-Iran talks before the air war that began 10 days ago.
(Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu; Editing by Daren Butler, Jonathan Spicer, Aidan Lewis)
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