Iran fires second ballistic missile into Turkish airspace despite direct warning, forces NATO to take immediate step

NATO air defenses have shot down a second ballistic missile fired from Iran that entered Turkish airspace, Turkey announced on Monday. This comes just days after Turkey had directly warned Iran not to carry out further attacks on Saturday.

This is the second Iranian ballistic missile incident involving southern Turkey, a NATO member that shares a border with Iran. Missile fragments from the intercepted projectile fell in empty fields in the southeastern province of Gaziantep, and no casualties were reported.

According to Reuters, the Turkish Defence Ministry stated, “We once again emphasise that all necessary measures will be taken decisively and without hesitation against any threat directed at our country’s territory and airspace.” The ministry also said it is in everyone’s best interest to heed Turkey’s warnings.

Turkey is leaning on NATO’s shared air defenses as its own systems remain incomplete

It was not immediately clear where the missile was headed, but NATO defenses in the eastern Mediterranean intercepted it. The U.S. operates air forces at Incirlik base in southern Turkey, and a key NATO radar base is located in Malatya province to the northeast. The missile fragments landed in Gaziantep, which sits roughly between these two locations.

Burhanettin Duran, President Tayyip Erdogan’s communications director, reinforced Ankara’s warning to all parties, particularly Iran, urging them not to take actions that could put regional stability and civilians at risk. The conflict has already shown signs of spilling over into neighboring countries in the region. Turkey has also stated that Washington did not use Incirlik in its recent air assault on Iran, alongside Israel, which triggered Tehran’s missile and drone attacks.

Iran has not commented on this specific incident. However, Iran has repeatedly said it is not at war with neighboring countries and is not directly targeting Turkey. Turkey had previously been trying to mediate talks between the U.S. and Iran before the current conflict began last week.

Despite these missile incidents, Turkey has said it has no current intention of invoking NATO’s Article 4, which calls on allies to consult when a member feels threatened. Invoking Article 4 could potentially lead to Article 5, which would require NATO to collectively defend the attacked member. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has made his position on the conflict clear, with his remarks on Iranian casualties drawing sharp attention.

Turkey has the alliance’s second-largest army and has grown into a major player in the global defense industry in recent years. However, it still does not have a fully developed air defense system of its own, which has forced it to rely on NATO’s shared defenses for both missile incidents this past week.