The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) on Thursday announced it had reinforced its ballistic missile defence system following the interception of a missile launched from Iran toward alliance member Turkey.
NATO spokesman Martin O’Donnell disclosed in a statement shared on social media that the alliance had increased its “alliance-wide ballistic missile defence posture” amid escalating attacks across the Middle East.
According to him, the decision was taken during an ambassador-level meeting in which the alliance’s 32 member states agreed that the defence posture should remain at a heightened level until the threat posed by Iran’s “indiscriminate attacks across the region” subsides.
O’Donnell explained that further details of the defence adjustment could not be released due to operational security concerns.
He confirmed that the move followed the successful interception of a ballistic missile targeting Turkey earlier the same day.
“In less than 10 minutes, NATO service members detected a ballistic missile threat to allied territory, verified its trajectory, alerted land- and sea-based missile defence systems, and launched an interceptor that neutralised the missile,” he said.
During the Brussels meeting, NATO allies also condemned Iran’s targeting of Turkey.
The development comes amid rising tensions in the Middle East, where Iran has reportedly launched missiles and drones at several locations following attacks by the United States and Israel.
Turkey’s defence ministry confirmed that NATO defence systems intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile fired from Iran that was detected heading toward Turkish territory.
However, a Turkish official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the missile was initially aimed at a base in Greek Cyprus but deviated from its course.
O’Donnell declined to provide additional details about the missile’s intended target, citing security reasons.
Source: AFP
