Overview
- Turkey’s defense ministry said NATO air and missile defenses in the eastern Mediterranean intercepted a ballistic munition launched from Iran after it entered Turkish airspace, the third such incident this month.
- Air raid sirens sounded at Incirlik Air Base near Adana, with local reports of a red alert and a fast-moving object in the night sky; alarms were also reported in Batman and an explosion was heard near Incirlik by a Reuters witness.
- NATO confirmed the successful interception, and allied forces have reinforced regional defenses, including the deployment of a U.S. Patriot battery to Malatya to bolster protection of the Kurecik radar site.
- Ankara requested clarification from Tehran and has issued protests after each incident, while Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian denied the launch in a call with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan; Turkey has not moved to invoke Article 5.
- Earlier interceptions on March 4 and March 9 scattered debris in Hatay and Gaziantep, and assessments reported by analysts suggested the missiles may have threatened the Incirlik area, which hosts U.S. and allied personnel.