The General Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces denied this Thursday that it had launched a missile against Türkiye, after it was reported that NATO defenses in that country
“The Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran respect the sovereignty of Turkey, a neighboring and friendly country, and deny any launch of missiles into its territory,” the General Staff said in a statement reported by Iranian media and cited by the EFE Agency office in Tehran.
Turkey’s defenses reported on Wednesday that they had intercepted an Iranian missile over the eastern Mediterranean and that the remains of the anti-aircraft munition fell in the extreme south of the country, without causing any casualties, as confirmed by the Turkish Government.
“A ballistic missile fired from Iran, which was heading towards Turkish airspace after passing through Iraq and Syria, was neutralized by NATO air and missile defenses stationed in the eastern Mediterranean,” the Turkish Defense Ministry said in a statement.
This is the first incident on Turkish soil since the start of the US and Israeli attacks against Iran last Saturday, but the second in Alliance space, after the hit of a drone at , which has raised alarms about the risk of this conflict for Europe.
The spokesman for the Turkish Presidency, Burhanettin Duran, detailed in another statement that a fragment of the missile “fell in a clear area” in the Dortyol district, in Hatay, “without any casualties or injuries being reported”, and has assured that “all necessary measures will be taken to defend Turkish territory and airspace without any hesitation.”
The incident has been condemned by NATO, which has reaffirmed its support for Ankara in the face of Tehran’s “indiscriminate attacks” in the region. This is the first incident of this type since the outbreak of the conflict in the Middle East due to the offensive launched on February 28 by the United States and Israel against the Asian country.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte speaks during a visit to the Ilinden barracks of the North Macedonian army in Skopje, March 3, 2026.
“Massive” support
Furthermore, the Secretary General of NATO, , stated this Wednesday that the offensive of the two Western allies has “massive” support among the Atlantic allies, in an interview in which he defended the Administration’s campaign while wanting to remove irony from the disagreements expressed by some European States.
“It is true that NATO is not involved, but obviously the allies massively support the actions of the president (Trump) and are also allowing what the United States is doing now in the region,” Rutte declared in an interview with the American right-wing network.
Subsequently, the Dutch official has been asked about those by the President of France, Emmanuel Macron, and the President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez. However, he has chosen not to mention the PSOE leader in his response and has focused on France, claiming that, despite the differences, he is allowing “the US to use, in terms of facilitation and support, French assets in the region.”
“And that is precisely why NATO is there. NATO is there to protect us collectively against any adversary, be it Russia or any other, or terrorism. But it is also a platform for the United States to project its power on the world stage,” Rutte went on to defend, before stating that “this campaign in Iran needs NATO allies to positively commit to these requests for bases.” “The fact that we remain united, the United States, Europe and Canada, is also crucial to the success of this American-Israeli campaign,” he added.
“NATO is there to protect us collectively against any adversary, be it Russia or anyone else, or terrorism. But it is also a platform for the United States to project its power on the world stage”
The former Prime Minister of the Netherlands, who has described as “crucial for the success of this American-Israeli campaign” that the United States, Europe and Canada remain united, has acknowledged that there are “debates” in NATO, but that these do not interfere with support for Washington in campaigns such as the one carried out against Iran. “We are an alliance of democracies, but in the end we will follow American leadership when it comes to these crucial moments,” he said.
In line, he stated that “the United States works at full speed and, sometimes, these cumbersome decision-making processes in Europe take time,” but he assured that he is “in constant contact with European leaders,” among whom, according to him, “there is broad support for the action of the American president.”
The tenant of the White House, for his part, has limited himself to publishing a brief message on social networks in which he has given “thanks to our great Secretary General of NATO.”
