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Turkey says NATO defences downed fourth inbound Iranian missile
NATO air defences intercepted a fourth missile fired from Iran into Turkish airspace since March, with no missile hitting Turkish soil, officials confirmed.
On Monday, NATO air defenses intercepted a ballistic missile fired from Iran as it entered Turkish airspace, marking the fourth such incident since the start of the Middle East war.
Turkey acts as an intermediary between the United States and Iran to find a path toward deescalation while seeking to avoid being dragged into the conflict sparked by US-Israeli strikes.
The Defense Ministry stated it is taking measures "decisively and without hesitation" against any threat to Turkish territory, while Ankara announced last week that NATO will deploy a new Patriot battery at Incirlik.
Tehran denied authorizing the previous three launches and offered to form a joint investigation with Ankara, though none of the projectiles managed to hit Turkish soil.
As a US-led alliance member, Turkey has been largely spared from retaliation, with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declaring that preventing the country from being dragged into the inferno is the priority.
The Iranian Foreign Minister has denied that his country is firing missiles at Turkey. Minister Abbas Araghchi offered to jointly investigate the incidents during a telephone conversation with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan.
3 months ago·Apeldoorn, Netherlands (Kingdom of the)