Published on 09/03/2026 – 18:02 GMT+1•Updated
18:37

NATO forces have intercepted an Iranian missile heading to Türkiye for the second time in less than a week, as US-Israeli strikes on Iran throw the wider Middle East into conflict.

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Last Wednesday, Türkiye’s Ministry of Defence said it intercepted an Iranian ballistic missile headed toward Turkish airspace close to the Syria border.

Confirming the incident, NATO spokesperson Allison Hart said “NATO stands firm in its readiness to defend all Allies against any threat”.

According to NATO sources, there is as yet no indication Türkiye is triggering formal proceedings within the alliance to initiate action against Iran.

However, the Turkish government summoned Iran’s ambassador to Ankara for a formal rebuke over the incident.

The US has a military presence at the Incirlik airbase in the south of the country.

“NATO has been clear it has strong interception capabilities”, Colonel ​Martin O’Donnell, spokesperson ​for the ⁠Supreme ‌Headquarters ‌Allied Powers ⁠Europe, told Euronews, saying that while Iran is “targeting the US footprint in various countries” it is also attacking public spaces “indiscriminately”.

While NATO has increased its security posture to a heightened level until the threat subsides, O’Donnell reiterated NATO’s position that it is not a party to the conflict, despite the fact the conflict is being prosecuted by the US, the alliance’s most powerful member by far.

“The Secretary General has been clear that NATO is not part of this war, but NATO will defend itself”, he said, speaking to Euronews from NATO HQ in Brussels on Monday.

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth warned that more casualties are expected in the ongoing Operation Epic Fury in Iran, with seven U.S. soldiers having been killed so far in the fighting.

Hegseth made the comment during an interview with CBS’ “60 Minutes” that aired on Sunday.

“The president’s been right to say there will be casualties,” Hegseth said. “Things like this don’t happen without casualties.”

“There will be more casualties,” he continued. “And no one is — I mean, especially our generation knows what it’s like to see Americans come home in caskets, it’s — but that doesn’t weaken us one bit. It stiffens our spine and our resolve to say this is a fight we will finish.”

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Six U.S. service members were killed in a March 1 Iranian drone attack in Port Shuaiba, Kuwait, while supporting Operation Epic Fury. The U.S. military said a seventh service member died of injuries from an Iranian attack on troops in Saudi Arabia on March 1.

The U.S. and Israel last week launched joint strikes against Iran. Iran has retaliated, launching strikes against Israel and neighboring Gulf Arab states, including Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi on Sunday told NBC News’ “Meet the Press” that if the U.S. deploys ground troops in Iran, “we have very brave soldiers who are waiting for any enemy who enters into our soil, to fight with them and to kill them and destroy them.”

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“We never give up, we never surrender, and we continue to resist as long as it takes,” he said. “We continue to defend ourselves, and we are defending our territory, our people and our dignity. And our dignity is not for sale.”

When reporters asked President Donald Trump aboard Air Force One on Saturday about potential ground troops being used in the Iran operation, the president said there would “have to be a very good reason.”

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“And I would say if we ever did that, [Iran] would be so decimated they wouldn’t be able to fight at the ground level,” Trump told reporters.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.