A missile destroyed by NATO air defence systems near Turkish airspace on Wednesday was heading towards Cyprus rather than Turkey, a Turkish official told AFP, contradicting the alliance’s portrayal of the incident as an Iranian attack on a member state.
- The official stated that the missile had "veered off course" after being launched at a base in what was described as "Greek Cyprus," indicating that Turkey was not the intended target.
- Adding to the tensions, a senior commander from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps had previously threatened to strike Cyprus with sufficient force to compel US forces to leave the island.
The official stated that the missile had “veered off course” after being launched at a base in what was described as “Greek Cyprus,” indicating that Turkey was not the intended target.
NATO had condemned Iran, labelling the missile incident as an apparent targeting of Turkey. Their defence systems successfully intercepted and destroyed the missile before it could enter Turkish airspace. However, the alliance has yet to address the Turkish official’s account.
This incident is the latest development in a series of escalations linked to the regional conflict ignited by US-Israeli strikes on Iran, which began on 28 February. Just days prior to the missile interception, Iranian-made drones struck RAF Akrotiri on Cyprus’s southern coast early on 2 March. The Cypriot government attributed these attacks to launches from Lebanon, likely orchestrated by Hezbollah.
Adding to the tensions, a senior commander from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps had previously threatened to strike Cyprus with sufficient force to compel US forces to leave the island.
