NATO announced that its assets shot down two ballistic missiles aimed at Turkey in a week, but Iran denied that they had targeted Turkey.
Since the Defense Ministry and NATO did not provide information on which region of Iran the ballistic missiles were launched from, the route taken by the missiles and their target became a matter of debate.
Five days after the first case on March 4, the second ballistic missile launched from Iran heading to Turkish airspace was destroyed, the Defense Ministry and NATO reported on March 9.
“A ballistic munition launched from Iran and entering Turkish airspace was neutralized by NATO air and defense missile assets deployed in the Eastern Mediterranean,” the Defense Ministry said.
NATO spokesperson Allison Hart said: “NATO has again intercepted a missile heading to Türkiye. NATO stands firm in its readiness to defend all Allies against any threat.”
PART OF INTERCEPTOR
Like the debris that fell in the Dörtyol district of Hatay on March 4, the debris which fell in Gaziantep on March 9 was a Mk-104 dual thrust rocket motor belonging to the SM-3 interceptor launched from an Arleigh Burke-class U.S. destroyer stationed in the Eastern Mediterranean as part of a NATO mission.
The Mk 72 booster and dual-thrust rocket motor provide first and second stage propulsion to the interceptor, and separate from the warhead before it exits the atmosphere. The warhead engages the ballistic missile in the exo-atmosphere.
WHAT WAS THE TARGET?
While some U.S. officials say the İncirlik Air Base in Adana may have been targeted, missile technology expert Sıtkı Egeli said that it is more likely that a missile fired from southern Iran targeted the NATO radar base in Kürecik, Malatya.
On the other hand, since SM-3 interceptors using the hit-to-kill method can only neutralize ballistic missiles outside the atmosphere, defense analyst Fazıl Atay argues that a ballistic missile which is outside the atmosphere while over Gaziantep could not be aimed at İncirlik, but could be heading for Cyprus or Crete further west.
Retired Vice Admiral Cem Gürdeniz, a prominent eurasianist, offered another possibility: "CENTCOM Commander Admiral Cooper has announced that they collected Iranian drones from the field and used them. Therefore, it is natural to ask the following question: Can the possibility that this missile is a false flag operation by a third party (Israel, CIA, MI6, Mossad, etc.) seeking to escalate the conflict in the region be completely ruled out?"
Retired Brigadier General Naim Babüroğlu, an international relations expert, said that the target of the Iranian missile could be U.S. ships in the Mediterranean or the Suda Naval Base in Crete. He also drew attention to the fact that debris fell on Gaziantep immediately after the U.S. announced it would evacuate its consulate in Adana and raised the Travel Advisory for Southeast Turkey to Level 4 - Do Not Travel. He added that triggering NATO Article 5 for Turkey would be welcome for the U.S. and Israel. Also Babüroğlu supported the claim that those who fired the missile could be MOSSAD or CIA agents who had infiltrated the Iranian Army and wanted to drag Turkey into the war.
IRAN DENIES TARGETING TURKEY
Mohammad Hassan Habibullah, Iran's ambassador to Ankara, was summoned to the Foreign Ministry for the second time in five days and asked for an explanation. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan spoke with their Iranian counterparts by phone to convey Turkey's reaction and concerns.
“Regarding Azerbaijan, Türkiye, and Cyprus, the General Staff of the Armed Forces has explicitly and officially announced that no such launches were made from within Iran or by our military forces. We have always warned about false flag operations,” Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said.
Iran President Masoud Pezeshkian told Erdoğan that Tehran is ready to form a joint team to investigate "allegations" of Iranian missile attacks on Turkey, Iranian media reported.
