Ankara denies claims of Turkish airspace being used in US strikes on Iran

The Turkish government has firmly rejected allegations that American fighter jets used Türkiye’s airspace to carry out strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, labelling the reports as disinformation.

According to a statement issued by the Communications Directorate of the Turkish Presidency and cited by Azerbaijani media, no part of Turkish airspace was involved in the US-led military operation targeting nuclear infrastructure in Iran, mirroring Ankara’s earlier position that Israeli attacks on Iran also did not involve Turkish territory.

“The aircraft, which took off from the United States and entered from the Strait of Gibraltar, reached Israel via the southern Mediterranean Sea and struck Iran via Iraq. After the attack, these bombers returned to US territory via the same route, from the south of the island of Crete, after refuelling,” the statement clarified.

The Turkish Presidency also reiterated that Türkiye remains committed to promoting peace and stability across the Middle East. The statement emphasised that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan supports diplomatic initiatives to resolve regional tensions, and any claims suggesting otherwise are false.

The US operation, codenamed “Midnight Hammer,” was launched on June 21 and involved 125 military aircraft. The coordinated assault targeted three key Iranian nuclear sites: Fordo, Natanz, and Isfahan.

Among the most significant actions was the deployment of 14 GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrators (MOPs) — deep-penetration bombs designed to destroy heavily fortified targets — on the Fordo nuclear enrichment facility, which is buried deep beneath a mountain near Tehran and regarded as a critical part of Iran’s nuclear infrastructure.

The US strike was part of an escalating conflict that began on June 13, when Israel launched a surprise attack on dozens of Iranian military and nuclear sites. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed at the time that Iran was nearing nuclear weapons capability, though Tehran maintains that its nuclear programme is purely peaceful.

In retaliation, Iran launched missile strikes against Israel, and an ongoing air conflict has since developed between the two nations.

While US President Donald Trump has long sought to pressure Iran into abandoning its nuclear programme, the June 21 airstrike came even as Washington and Tehran were reportedly engaged in dialogue.

The situation is further complicated by conflicting intelligence assessments. In March, US National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard stated that although Iran had significantly increased its enriched uranium stockpile, it was not actively building a nuclear weapon — an assessment that President Trump has since publicly rejected as inaccurate.

Meanwhile, Israel is widely believed to possess nuclear weapons, though it has never officially confirmed or denied its nuclear capability.

By Tamilla Hasanova