Iranian Armed Forces Deny Firing Missiles into Turkish Territory

The Iranian Armed Forces have denied firing missiles into Turkish territory. Tehran emphasised that it respects the territorial integrity of Turkey, its neighbouring country and a friend of Iran.

‘The Islamic Republic of Iran Armed Forces deny firing any missiles at Turkey,’ said the Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces in a statement, as reported by Press TV on Thursday (5 March 2026).

The statement stressed that the Iranian Armed Forces respect Turkey’s sovereignty, the neighbouring country and a friend of Iran.

The denial came after Turkey’s National Defence Ministry reported that a ballistic munition fired from Iran towards Turkish airspace was intercepted and neutralised by NATO air and missile defence units stationed in the Eastern Mediterranean. The ministry said the projectile was detected after crossing Iraq and Syria.

The exact target of the NATO-intercepted missile was not clearly known. In recent days, Iran has attacked various locations across the Gulf region in retaliation for US-Israel strikes.

Separately, an unnamed Turkish official told AFP that the Iranian missile was ‘intended for the Greek Cypriot base but veered off course’. The Iranian military has not yet directly commented on this.

Several Turkish officials said debris fell in the Dortyol district, southern Turkey near the Syrian border, identified as parts of a NATO interceptor missile to neutralise ‘an aerial threat’. There were no reports of injuries from the debris.

In response to the missile incident, Turkish authorities summoned the Iranian ambassador to convey their ‘reaction and concern’. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan spoke by phone with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Wednesday (4 March), with Fidan urging Iran not to take steps that could widen the conflict.