NATO spokesman Martin O’Donnell said today that the Iranian ballistic missile that was shot down by Alliance forces yesterday was indeed aimed at Turkey, and not at a military base in Cyprus, as a responsible Turkish official had previously claimed, the “Turkish Minute“ website reported, citing an interview the spokesman gave to Agence France-Presse, BTA reported.
In an interview with the agency published today, O’Donnell stated that “The Alliance remains of the position that a ballistic missile launched yesterday by Iran was aimed at Turkey before being shot down“. Asked whether the missile was deliberately aimed at targets in Turkey, the Alliance spokesman replied in the affirmative, stressing that in NATO spokeswoman Alison Hart's initial statement on the incident, she had stated that "the Alliance condemns Iran's targeting of Turkey."
"I will refrain from disclosing any further information that could affect the security or protection of the forces," O'Donnell said at the end of the interview.
Yesterday, a senior Turkish official, who requested anonymity, was quoted by Agence France-Presse as saying that Turkey was not the target of the Iranian missile, which he said "was aimed at a military base in Cyprus but deviated."
The official statement from the Turkish Defense Ministry on the incident did not specify whether the missile was fired at Turkey, but only that “it had headed towards Turkish airspace after passing through the airspace of Iraq and Syria“.
Earlier today, the Iranian army denied having fired a missile at Turkey and stated that it respects its sovereignty.
The Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Turkey indicated in its weekly briefing that after shooting down an Iranian missile that had headed towards Turkey yesterday, Ankara continues to support stability in the region, but reserves the right to respond to hostile actions.
“Turkey remains committed to maintaining regional stability, while reserving the right to respond to hostile actions“, the spokesman for the Turkish Ministry of Defense, Rear Admiral Zeki Aktürk, told journalists.
Today, the Ministry of Defense once again emphasized that there were no casualties or injuries in the incident and expressed hope that the conflict will end as soon as possible.
„We are closely following the conflict, which began with the attacks of Israel and the US on Iran and escalated by targeting third countries. We hope that the conflict, which affects innocent civilians and encroaches on the peace and stability of our region, will end sooner rather than later“, said Rear Admiral Aktürk.
The Turkish Ministry of Defense stressed that they are ready to contribute to solving the problems in the region peacefully and stressed that this can only happen through dialogue.
The military assured that there is no migrant pressure on Turkey after the start of the conflict in Iran.