Turkey says Iranian missile over its airspace destroyed by Nato defences

Nato air defence systems have shot down an Iranian ballistic missile heading into Turkish airspace, the Turkish defence ministry said on Wednesday. 

The ministry said the missile had crossed Iraqi and Syrian airspace and was "neutralised in a timely manner" by Nato's air and missile defences deployed in the eastern Mediterranean.

"The fragment of the missile that fell in Dortyol district of Hatay province has been identified as belonging to the air defence missile that intercepted the threat in the air," the ministry said. "There were no casualties or injuries in the incident."

The ministry added that while Ankara wants regional stability and peace, it is capable of ensuring the safety of its citizens and territory "regardless of who or where the threat comes from".

"We remind all parties that we reserve the right to respond to any hostile actions against our country," it said. "We warn all parties to refrain from actions that would lead to further escalation of conflicts in the region. In this context, we will continue to consult with Nato and our other allies."

Earlier this week, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said that Iranian efforts to financially hurt Gulf countries in the hope of pushing the US to end the war were unlikely to succeed. 

Since the weekend, Iranian military officials have responded to the attacks with a decentralised strategy, following the removal of many of the country's senior leadership, hitting Gulf countries with missiles, damaging luxury hotels in Dubai, striking energy facilities in Saudi Arabia and prompting Qatar to temporarily halt its LNG exports.

Experts close to Tehran say it has aimed to regionalise the conflict and demonstrate to the US and the international community that the repercussions from the attack would extend beyond Iran and affect the broader region.

Turkey had tried for weeks to broker a deal between Washington and Tehran. But the US and Israeli attacks over the weekend, following several rounds of talks, scuppered Ankara's attempts to avoid war.

Fidan acknowledged that Turkey's efforts had failed, despite the Turkish government putting forward “creative solutions” to the disagreement over Iran’s nuclear and ballistic programmes.

Fidan said that Turkey has been trying to find a way forward through talks with the relevant parties, but that negotiations would have to be multilayered, as it is unclear when the attacks might stop in a way that would satisfy the US and Israel.

Turkey's pro-Kurdish party criticises war

Turkey's pro-Kurdish party has criticised the US-Israeli attacks, saying it opposed “external designs” on Iran.

“It is clear that global and regional powers are, as in other historical examples, seeking to establish a new order in Iran that would no longer pose a threat to themselves, rather than prioritising democracy and freedoms,” said the Peoples' Equality and Democracy (Dem) Party, which has ties to Kurds in Iran.

“We are witnessing examples that demonstrate the ongoing air strikes do not create conditions that would correspond to the expectations of a new, free life for Kurds, Baloch, Christians, Azerbaijanis and Persian communities in Iran,” it added. 

“We have not forgotten and will not forget the killings of Jina Mahsa Amini, Mujahid Kurkur, Dr Qasimlo, Ramin Hossein Panahi, and tens of thousands of other Iranians of different identities by the Mullah regime,” the party said.

“However, we continue to maintain that change in the current regime in Iran should come not through external designs but through the collective will of its peoples.”