'NATO stands ready to defend against threats from all directions': Alliance statement

BRUSSELS

NATO stands ready to defend against any threats coming from all directions, the alliance said, issuing a statement after a missile fired from Iran towards Turkish airspace was neutralized by NATO assets.

In a written statement to Anadolu, NATO said: “NATO continues to be ready to defend against any threats from any direction.”

The statement said operational details could not be shared, adding: “We will continue to adapt our ballistic missile defense system to evolving threats.”

Türkiye’s National Defense Ministry said earlier Friday that ballistic munitions fired from Iran into Turkish airspace were neutralized by NATO air and missile defense assets deployed in the Eastern Mediterranean.

There were similar possible incursions on March 4 and 9, in both cases also neutralized by NATO air and missile defense elements.

Türkiye joined NATO in 1952 – part of the postwar alliance’s first expansion – nearly 75 years ago.