A missile destroyed by NATO air defence systems near Turkish airspace on Wednesday was heading towards Cyprus rather than Turkey, a Turkish official told AFP, contradicting the alliance’s portrayal of the incident as an Iranian attack on a member state.
The official said the missile had “veered off course” after being launched at a base in what the source described as “Greek Cyprus,” suggesting Turkey was not the intended target.
NATO had condemned Iran over what it called the apparent targeting of Turkey, whose defence systems intercepted and destroyed the missile before it entered Turkish airspace. The alliance did not immediately address the Turkish official’s account.
The incident is the latest spillover from the regional conflict ignited by US-Israeli strikes on Iran, which began on 28 February. Iranian-made drones struck RAF Akrotiri on Cyprus’s southern coast early on 2 March, with Cyprus’s government saying they were launched from Lebanon, likely by Hezbollah. A senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps commander had separately threatened to strike Cyprus with enough force to drive US forces from the island.
(File photo)
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