Turkey says second Iranian missile shot down by NATO
Turkey said that NATO air defenses shot down a second ballistic missile launched from Iran and entered Turkish airspace, and warned that it would take the necessary steps against the threats.
This was Iran’s second ballistic missile in the past week, targeting southern Türkiye, a member of the NATO military alliance and Iran’s neighbor.
Turkish officials on Saturday warned Iran against renewed attack but did not indicate that the country wanted to formally appeal to alliance members for greater protection.
The Ministry of National Defense said, “We emphasize once again that all necessary measures will be taken decisively and without hesitation against any threat to our country’s territory and airspace.”
“We also reiterate that it is in everyone’s interest to heed Türkiye’s warnings on this issue.”
It was unclear where the missile was going before it was intercepted by NATO defense systems deployed in the eastern Mediterranean.
Statement About the Ballistic Missile Neutralized in Turkish Airspace Statement About the Ballistic Missile Neutralized in Turkish Airspace #Ministry of National Defense pic.twitter.com/im7LFpVOl7— TR Ministry of National Defense (@tcsavunma) 9 March 2026
US air forces are based at Incirlik base in southern Türkiye, and there is a NATO radar base in the northeastern province of Malatya that provides vital protection to the alliance.
Türkiye said the missile fragments fell on empty fields in Gaziantep, roughly between the two.
President Tayyip Erdoğan’s Director of Communications, Burhanettin Duran, said that Türkiye strongly reiterated its warning to all parties, especially Iran, to avoid steps that would endanger regional stability and civilians.
Türkiye says the United States did not use Incirlik, along with Israel, in the air strike against Iran, which triggered Iranian missile and drone attacks.
Iran did not immediately comment on the incident, but has repeatedly stated that it is not at war with regional countries and does not openly target Türkiye.
Türkiye, which tried to mediate US-Iran talks before the air war that started last week, had previously said it had no intention of applying NATO’s Article 4, which calls on allies to consult if a member is threatened.
This could lead to the activation of the alliance’s Article 5, which calls on NATO to defend its ally under attack.
Türkiye has the second largest army in the military alliance and has become a leading global actor in the defense industry in recent years.
However, despite development efforts, it still lacks its own strong air defense.
In both incidents last week, it relied on NATO air defenses.
Meanwhile, the United Arab Emirates said 15 ballistic missiles and 18 drones were fired at the Gulf country on Monday.
The UAE defense ministry said this brings the total number of shells fired at the UAE since the start of the US and Israel’s war against Iran to 253 missiles and 1440 drones.
It was stated that 4 foreigners died and 117 people were injured in the attacks.
Israel said it had launched a “large-scale wave of attacks” in Iran’s capital Tehran, Isfahan and southern Iran.
It was stated that the number of missiles launched from Iran decreased with each dam.
Israeli military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani said that in the early days of the war, there was bombardment with dozens of missiles, but this number dropped below 10 or 20 missiles at a time.
Iran still fires missiles at Israel frequently and sends people running for shelter multiple times a day, especially in central Israel.
with AP
