President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Friday that keeping Turkey out of the expanding Middle East conflict is Ankara’s top priority, as the government seeks to prevent further spillover after NATO intercepted a third ballistic missile fired from Iran toward Turkish territory this month.
Speaking in Ankara, Erdoğan said Turkey was acting with caution against “plots, traps and provocations” that could drag the country into war and vowed an “appropriate and measured” response to any threat. The remarks came hours after Turkey’s defense ministry said NATO air defenses in the eastern Mediterranean had shot down another missile launched from Iran toward Turkey, following earlier interceptions on March 4 and March 9.
Turkey has not said what the latest missile was targeting, but an explosion was heard overnight near İncirlik Air Base in the southern province of Adana, according to witnesses and verified footage. The base hosts US, Turkish and other allied personnel, although Ankara says Washington has not used İncirlik in its air assault on Iran.
Erdoğan has presented Turkey as both exposed to the conflict and determined to stay out of it. Earlier this week he said the fighting must stop before the whole region is “thrown into the fire” and called for diplomacy, saying Turkey was in contact with all sides. Ankara had offered to mediate before the US and Israeli strikes on Iran began.
The latest interception also highlighted a gap in Turkey’s own air defense posture. Despite acquiring the Russian S-400 missile defense system in 2019, Turkey has relied on NATO integrated defenses against the incoming missiles. Turkish officials said this week that the NATO system was quicker and more effective in responding to the threat. NATO has also reinforced regional defenses, including by deploying a US Patriot battery to protect the Kürecik radar base in Malatya province, a key early warning site for the alliance.
Turkey has protested to Tehran after each incident and asked Iran for clarification over Friday’s missile. Iran has denied targeting Turkey and said no projectile was launched at it, while proposing a joint investigation. Turkish officials, however, have signaled that restraint should not be read as open ended tolerance and said Ankara expects those responsible to be identified and prevented from carrying out further launches.
With reporting by Agence France-Presse