Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian held a telephone conversation, in which the Iranian president told his Turkish counterpart that Iran was not the source of the missiles that entered Turkish airspace and that a comprehensive investigation would be conducted into the case, the Communications Directorate of the Presidency of the Republic of Turkey announced, BTA reported.
"Pezeshkian said that Iran was not the source of the missiles that entered Turkish airspace and that they would conduct a comprehensive investigation into the case," the official statement about the telephone conversation reads. It also makes it clear that it was carried out at the request of the Iranian side.
On March 9, the Turkish Ministry of Defense announced that a ballistic missile launched by Iran had entered Turkish airspace and was shot down by NATO air and missile defense systems in the Eastern Mediterranean. This is the second such case in recent days against the backdrop of events in the Middle East, after the Ministry also announced on March 4 the interception of an Iranian ballistic missile that had headed for Turkish airspace after flying over the airspace of Iraq and Syria.
Erdogan expressed disagreement with the intervention in Iran, defining it as illegal and was categorical that he did not find it right for Iran to attack third, brotherly countries in the region. The Turkish president told Pezeshkian that this would not benefit anyone and that such actions should be stopped.
"President Erdogan stated that Turkey is suffering the consequences of a conflict to which it is not a party and that whatever the reason, the entry into our country's airspace will not be excused, and that Turkey will continue to take all measures against this", the Directorate of Communications of the Presidency of the Republic of Turkey announced.
Erdogan stressed the need for negotiations and the efforts that Turkey is making to renew them. The Turkish president also expressed his sadness over the loss of human lives, including those of children who died as a result of a missile strike on a school in the Iranian city of Minab.
The Turkish head of state also expressed condolences for the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and expressed hope that the election of Mojtaba Khamenei as the new spiritual leader of Iran will bring peace to the region.