The Iranian Embassy in Ankara has issued a statement denying that its military fired a ballistic missile toward Turkey following a third interception by NATO defense systems earlier today.
"No ammunition has been launched from Iran towards Turkey," the embassy stated, adding that Tehran is "ready to establish a joint technical team for a detailed investigation of this matter in order to resolve any ambiguity."
The incident triggered sirens in the southern province of Adana, home to the İncirlik Air Base which hosts US and NATO forces. Both Turkey's National Defense Ministry and NATO confirmed earlier that the missile had been shot down by NATO defense installations in the eastern Mediterranean.
This marks the third interception since a conflict involving Iran and a US-Israel alliance began on Feb 28. Previous incidents occurred on Mar 4 and Mar 9. Following those events, a Patriot air defense system was deployed to the southeastern province of Malatya to protect the NATO-operated Kürecik Radar Station.
Patriot air defense system deployed in Malatya
Iran's president and foreign minister had denied responsibility for the previous incidents in phone conversations with their counterparts in Turkey.
These incidents occur amid an ongoing conflict between Iran and a US-Israel alliance that began on Feb 28 following attacks by the latter. Iran has retaliated by targeting Israel US assets in the region with missile and drone barrages. (VK)
