Iran has denied attacking Turkey after a ballistic missile entered Nato airspace and was intercepted, heightening fears that the conflict is spreading beyond the Middle East. The Iranian Armed Forces General Staff rejected accusations that it had fired a missile at Turkey, stating that the Islamic Republic respects Turkish sovereignty.
Nato air defences destroyed the Iranian ballistic missile on Wednesday, marking the first time a Nato member bordering Asia has been drawn into the confrontation. The incident raises the possibility of a major expansion of the war, which entered its sixth day on Thursday.
US secretary of state Marco Rubio told Turkish foreign minister Hakan Fidan that attacks on Turkey's territory are unacceptable, and pledged full American support after the missile was shot down. The State Department confirmed the conversation on Wednesday.
The conflict has spread far beyond the Middle East. The US announced that one of its submarines struck an Iranian warship near Sri Lanka, killing at least 80 people. US defence secretary Pete Hegseth warned that Operation Epic Fury had “only just begun”, and said the Iranian frigate IRIS Dena was sunk by a torpedo, describing it as a “quiet death”.
Iran launched more missiles at Israel and US bases in the Middle East on Thursday. The Iranian Revolutionary Guards claimed they struck a US tanker in the northern Gulf and declared that passage through the Strait of Hormuz would be under Iran’s control, a move that could disrupt global oil supplies. The US Central Command said it had destroyed 17 Iranian naval ships as of Tuesday.
