Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Monday that Iran has not targeted Türkiye or several neighboring countries amid the ongoing conflict with Israel and the United States, as fighting entered its 10th day.
Speaking at a press briefing in Tehran, spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said Iranian forces had not launched attacks against Türkiye, Azerbaijan or the Greek Cypriot administration from Iranian territory.
“Iran’s armed forces have not targeted Türkiye, Azerbaijan or (the island of) Cyprus, and no attacks have been launched against these countries from Iranian soil,” Baghaei said.
The remarks came amid heightened tensions in the region following a series of strikes by Israel and the United States against Iranian targets.
Baghaei said Iranians were prepared to defend their country and insisted that the future of Iran would be determined by “the will of the Iranian people.”
He accused Washington of undermining diplomatic efforts that had been underway before the attacks began.
“While we were engaged in diplomatic talks, they launched a war,” he said.
Addressing the possibility of a cease-fire, Baghaei said discussions about ending the conflict would be meaningless as long as attacks against Iran continued.
“As long as the aggression continues, there is no meaning in talking about anything other than defense and retaliation against our enemies,” he said.
Baghaei also suggested that some reported attacks could be fabricated, warning that “the enemy” might stage false incidents in an attempt to create divisions between Iran and other countries in the region.
Türkiye's Ministry of National Defense said last week that a ballistic munition launched from Iran and directed toward Turkish airspace was detected after crossing Iraqi and Syrian airspace. The projectile was intercepted and neutralized by NATO air and missile defense units deployed in the Eastern Mediterranean.
Türkiye summoned Iran's ambassador to Ankara to convey a formal protest and expressed deep concern over the incident. Officials stressed that any steps that could expand ongoing conflicts or further destabilize the region must be avoided.
Following the missile incident, several organizations and states condemned the attack and voiced solidarity with Türkiye, including NATO, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), Spain, the UAE, Albania, Belgium, Pakistan and Italy.
Meanwhile, Azerbaijan's Foreign Ministry reported that drones launched from Iranian territory had targeted the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic. Following the incident, Iran’s ambassador to Baku, Mojtaba Demirchilou, was summoned and handed a protest note.
