Iran has said it did not fire any missiles into Turkey after the country announced on Wednesday that NATO air defenses had destroyed a missile launched from Iran, amid escalating regional tensions, according to Iranian media.
“The Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran dismiss firing any missile into Turkey,” the Chief Staff of the Armed Forces said in a statement on Thursday.
It added that the Iranian Armed Forces respects the sovereignty of the neighboring and friendly country of Turkey.
The statement came after Turkey’s Defense Ministry announced on Wednesday that NATO air defense systems had destroyed a ballistic missile fired from Iran and heading into Turkish airspace.
The ministry said the missile was shot down after passing over Syria and Iraq. The incident caused no casualties.
“We reiterate that we reserve the right to respond to any hostile actions directed at our country,” the ministry said.
It was not clear whether the missile had targeted Turkey or was meant for another country, but NATO condemned it as an attack on Turkey.
“We condemn Iran’s targeting of Türkiye. NATO stands firmly with all allies, including Türkiye, as Iran continues its indiscriminate attacks across the region,” NATO spokeswoman Allison Hart said.
“Our deterrence and defense posture remains strong across all domains, including when it comes to air and missile defense.”
Since the start of joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran on Saturday and Tehran’s retaliatory attacks on US assets in Gulf countries, debate has grown in Turkey over whether Iran might also target the NATO member, where US troops are stationed at several military facilities, though many had downplayed the likelihood of such a move.