Turkey confirms third missile interception amid middle East war

Turkey’s defence ministry on Friday said NATO forces shot down a ballistic missile believed to have been launched from Iran after it entered Turkish airspace.

In a statement, the ministry said the missile was intercepted by NATO air and missile defence systems deployed in the eastern Mediterranean.

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

The incident is the third time a missile linked to the ongoing Middle East conflict has been intercepted over Turkish territory.

Earlier in the day, sirens sounded at the Incirlik Air Base in southern Turkey, a key NATO installation hosting United States troops, according to reports by the Anadolu news agency.

Local media also reported sirens in Batman, a city located about 600 kilometres east of Incirlik.

Residents in the southern city of Adana, near the Incirlik base, said they were awakened by air raid sirens around 3:25 a.m. local time.

Some residents reportedly shared footage online showing what appeared to be a fast-moving object in the sky that was on fire before being intercepted.

Reports also indicated that sirens were heard around 4:00 a.m. in Batman, where journalists suggested the alarm originated from a military drone facility near the city’s airport.

This follows two similar incidents earlier in the month, with NATO air defences intercepting a ballistic missile on March 4 and another on Monday.

Following the earlier interception, the United States temporarily closed its consulate in Adana and advised American citizens to leave southeastern Turkey.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, however, denied that the missile originated from Iran during a phone conversation with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Tensions in the region have escalated since the outbreak of the US–Israeli conflict with Iran on February 28, which has triggered retaliatory strikes across parts of the Middle East.

The Incirlik Air Base has long served as an important NATO military facility hosting US forces as well as personnel from Spain and Poland.

US troops are also stationed at the Kurecik base in central Malatya province, where they operate an early-warning radar system that forms a key part of NATO’s missile defence shield.

Although Turkish authorities have repeatedly stated that radar data from the system has not been used to support Israel, the installation has continued to raise concerns in Tehran.

Earlier this week, Turkey announced that a Patriot missile defence system would be deployed in Malatya following NATO’s decision to strengthen its alliance-wide ballistic missile defence posture.