NATO intercepts Iranian missile heading toward Turkish airspace

On Wednesday, NATO air defense systems destroyed an Iranian ballistic missile that had transited Iraqi and Syrian airspace toward Turkey. Debris from the interception landed in the Dortyol district of Hatay province, with no reported casualties. Reports regarding the intended target remain conflicting. An anonymous Turkish official suggested the missile was aimed at a military base in Cyprus and veered off course, while a US military source cited by journalist Michael Weiss claimed the target was the US Incirlik Air Base in Turkey, noting that a US Navy ship intercepted the projectile with an SM-3 missile. Separately, the Cypriot government reported that two Greek F-16s were scrambled to investigate an object moving from Lebanon toward Cyprus, though they located nothing. Turkey has urged all parties to avoid further escalation and has not invoked NATO Article 4. Iran has not provided an official comment regarding the incident.