On Monday, March 9th, Turkey summoned the Iranian ambassador to Ankara, Mohammad Hassan Habibollahzadeh, demanding urgent clarifications regarding a ballistic missile launched from Iranian territory towards Turkish airspace, before it was intercepted by NATO's air defense systems.
The Anadolu Agency, quoting the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stated that Ankara informed the Iranian ambassador of its "strong reaction and deep concern" regarding this development, which is the second such incident in five days, raising increasing fears about the security of Turkish airspace. The Turkish Ministry of Defense had announced that the missile was intercepted over the Gaziantep province in the south of the country, around 3 p.m. local time, by NATO air and missile defense systems deployed in the eastern Mediterranean. It explained that the missile fragments fell in uninhabited areas, without recording any human casualties or injuries. In a direct political response, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan confirmed that his country had issued clear warnings to Iran following the incident, stressing that Turkey is capable of confronting any threat to its national security or its air sovereignty. For its part, the Turkish Ministry of Defense emphasized that Ankara will take "all necessary measures firmly and without hesitation" in the face of any threat targeting its territory or airspace, in a message reflecting an escalation in military and security rhetoric. This development comes after a similar incident recorded on March 4th, when another ballistic missile launched from Iran was intercepted on its way to Turkish airspace, before being shot down near Hatay province, after passing through Iraqi and Syrian airspace.
