Iran denies involvement in missiles intercepted over Türkiye

Iranian Ambassador to Ankara, Mohammad Hassan Habibollahzadeh, addressed the recent missile incident involving Turkish airspace, stating that Iran has no connection to the missiles intercepted there and expects a joint investigation into the incident.

During a press conference on March 13, he expressed uncertainty about the origin of the projectiles and suggested that “third elements” might be trying to harm the fraternal ties between the two neighbouring countries, Caliber.Az reports via Turkish media.

“The missiles fired toward Türkiye are a question mark for us, too. How could such a thing happen? In our opinion, these could be done by third elements whose efforts are to harm the friendly and brotherly relations between the two countries,” Habibollahzadeh said. 

He noted that Tehran has proposed forming a joint technical team to thoroughly investigate the incident, but is still waiting for it to be implemented. 

The ambassador stressed Iran's respect for Türkiye's national sovereignty, pointing out that both countries’ armed forces and foreign ministries have issued statements denying the launch of any munitions.

These remarks come as NATO and Turkish officials reported that a third ballistic missile, believed to have been launched from Iran, was intercepted by NATO air‑defence systems over Turkish airspace on March 13, following similar interceptions on March 4 and March 9.

The Defence Ministry said there were no casualties and Ankara is seeking clarification from Tehran.

By Jeyhun Aghazada