Earlier on March 5, NATO air defense systems intercepted a missile flying from Iran toward Turkey. Iran has been attacking multiple countries in response to strikes by the United States and Israel. It has attacked the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia. Its northern neighbor, Azerbaijan, said on Thursday that an Iranian drone had injured two civilians.
Distant countries have also been affected, with drones attacking a British air force base in Cyprus this week, and Turkey saying that NATO air and missile defense systems shot down a missile heading towards its airspace on Wednesday. Both countries are NATO members and are bound by Article 5 of the treaty, which mandates joint defense in the event of an attack on any member state.
NATO members are already dealing with the Russia-Ukraine conflict on the alliance's eastern flank. The alliance's European members have depleted their stockpiles while supporting Ukraine, replenishment is progressing slowly, and commitments to increase defense spending have encountered obstacles.
Experts say that triggering Article 5 simply because a single missile was shot down is "a bit of an exaggeration." However, these incidents suggest that Iran may be expanding the scope of its "war for survival," but what is truly more worrying is that prolonged internal turmoil in Iran could trigger new regional instability, thereby exacerbating security risks in the Middle East.
