Azerbaijan summons Iranian envoy over drone attack; NATO shoots down an Iranian ballistic missile entering Turkish airspace

AFP Baku, 5th. A drone attack near an airport and a school in Azerbaijan caused 2 people to be injured. The Azerbaijani government summoned the Iranian envoy today.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan stated in a statement: "We strongly condemn these drone attacks launched from the territory of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which caused damage to airport buildings and two civilians were injured."

Close government sources told Reuters that missiles and drones from the direction of Iran fell at the airport in the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhchivan today, causing fires on site. It is currently unknown how many missiles and drones fell in the area.

The video shared by this source shows black smoke near the terminal of Nakhchivan International Airport. This airport is about 10 kilometers away from the Iranian border.

The Turkish Defense Ministry said that a ballistic missile fired by Iran and entering its airspace was shot down by the NATO defense system on Wednesday, March 4. Ankara stated that no casualties were reported, and that Turkish diplomacy had summoned the Iranian ambassador that evening. The United States condemned Iran's violation against Turkey and pledged to give its ally "full" support.

The Turkish Defense Ministry stated on Wednesday, March 4, that a ballistic missile fired from Iran and heading towards Turkish airspace was destroyed by the NATO defense system deployed in the Eastern Mediterranean, but did not specify the target of the missile. A Turkish official, who remained anonymous, later stated that the missile was estimated to have targeted a U.S. Air Force base in Cyprus.

The ballistic missile fired from Iran flew over Iraq and Syria and was intercepted and shot down in Turkish airspace by the NATO air and missile defense forces stationed in the Eastern Mediterranean. The Turkish Defense Ministry said on X that no casualties were caused by this incident.

President Erdogan of Turkey subsequently made a statement in response to the incident, stating, "We are closely coordinating with our NATO allies and taking all necessary measures and acting immediately when necessary." He also stated, "We have also issued very clear warnings to prevent similar incidents from happening again."

NATO also quickly condemned the violation against Turkey. NATO stated in a statement: "In the context of Iran's ongoing indiscriminate attacks across the region, NATO stands firmly with all its allies, including Turkey."

Turkey is a NATO member, and according to the collective defense provisions of the North Atlantic Treaty, if any member state is attacked, NATO must provide assistance to it.

The remnants of the NATO air defense system that intercepted the missile were found in the southern province of Hatay in Turkey, which is close to the Incirlik military base, where U.S. Air Force is stationed.

U.S. Secretary of State Rubio has already called the Turkish foreign minister. Rubio stated that attacks on Turkish sovereign territory are unacceptable, and the United States pledged to provide full support to its allies.

According to Turkish diplomatic sources, Turkey summoned the Iranian ambassador in the evening of Wednesday, expressing concern over the incident and hoping to avoid any actions that could escalate the situation.

Erdogan had previously stated on Monday that Turkey is making every effort to peacefully resolve the conflict in the Middle East triggered by the U.S. and Israel's strikes on Iran as soon as possible. On Tuesday, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakkan Fidan said in a television interview that Iran's indiscriminate retaliatory attacks on many Middle Eastern countries were "an extremely bad strategy".

An anonymous Turkish official told AFP that the Iranian missile attack on Wednesday was estimated to have originally targeted a military base located in Cyprus, but may have deviated from its course during flight.

Sources: rfi

Original: toutiao.com/article/1858845760660492/

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