NATO intercepts missile from Iran heading toward Turkey, defense ministry says

preCharge News POLITICS — NATO defenses intercepted a ballistic missile launched by Iran that was heading toward Turkish airspace on Wednesday, Turkey’s defense ministry said.

Turkey is a member of the transatlantic NATO alliance, and the launch was Iran’s first apparent attempt to target any of the alliance’s members since the war began on Saturday.

The missile was detected after crossing Iraqi and Syrian airspace, the defense ministry said in a statement. NATO air and missile defense assets in the eastern Mediterranean engaged and neutralized the weapon.

“It has been determined that the ordnance that fell in Dörtyol district of Hatay province belonged to an air defense munition that intercepted the threat in the air. There were no casualties or injuries in the incident,” the defense ministry said.

It warned “all parties to refrain from actions that would further spread the conflict in the region” and said it would continue to consult with NATO and other allies.

Turkey’s foreign ministry said Minister Hakan Fidan held a call with his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araghchi, in which he stated that any steps that could lead to the conflict spreading should be avoided.

Hegseth downplays likelihood of NATO Article 5 invocation based on Iran firing missile at Turkey

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said at the Pentagon that the U.S. was “aware” of the apparent thwarted Iranian attempt to target Turkey with its retaliatory missile fire, but that he didn’t expect the incident to prompt Turkey to trigger NATO’s collective defense clause.

Turkey is a NATO member, and its military said Wednesday that NATO defenses had shot down an Iranian missile headed for the country’s airspace, without specifying what defensive weapon was used, or which NATO member it belonged to.

Hegseth said there was “no sense that it would trigger anything like Article 5.”

“On the matter with Turkey, I’ll have to get back to you on exactly what the intercept looked like,” Hegseth said. “We’re aware of that particular engagement, although no sense that it would trigger anything like Article 5.”

Article 5 is NATO’s cornerstone defense principle, which says effectively that if any NATO nation is attacked, it will be responded to as an attack on all.

The clause has been invoked only once in the seven-decade-old alliance’s history, in 2001, by the United States in response to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.