ISTANBUL: ISTANBUL: Turkiye and Iran have mutually suspended day-trip crossings at their border, Turkiye’s trade minister said Monday as Israeli-US strikes continued to pound the Islamic Republic.
“Same-day passenger crossings at all three customs gates have been mutually suspended,” Trade Minister Omer Bolat wrote on X.
But he insisted there was “no extraordinary situation” at the three crossings along their shared 500-kilometer (300-mile) frontier.
“Iran is allowing its own citizens to enter their country via Turkiye... we are also allowing our own citizens and third-country nationals to enter our country from Iran,” he said.
Despite the strikes, which began on Saturday morning, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said later that day that Turkiye had not experienced any problems “in terms of border security.”
Iran’s neighbors have long feared that a new round of strikes on the country could destabilize the entire region, unleashing a possible influx of refugees.
Also Saturday, Turkiye’s Interior Minister Mustafa Ciftci spoke with his Azerbaijani and Iraqi counterparts to discuss “strengthening cooperation.” They also share a border with Iran.
Turkiye currently hosts more than 74,000 Iranians with residence permits and some 5,000 refugees.
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Turkiye’s trade minister says day-trip crossings halted at Iranian border
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Turkiye’s trade minister says day-trip crossings halted at Iranian border
Sirens heard at Incirlik air base, key NATO facility in south Turkiye: state news agency
- Key NATO facility where US troops are stationed near the southeastern city of Adana
ANKARA: Sirens were heard early on Friday at Turkiye’s Incirlik air base, a key NATO facility where US troops are stationed near the southeastern city of Adana, state news agency Anadolu reported.
There was no immediate official comment on the incident, which took place four days after NATO air defenses shot down a ballistic missile in Turkish airspace that was fired from Iran, the second in five days.
Residents of Adana, which lies 10 kilometers away from the base, were woken at around 3:25 a.m. (0025 GMT) by sirens, which sounded for around five minutes, according to the Ekonomim business news website.
It said a red alert sounded at the base.
Several people posted mobile phone footage on social media of a glowing image flying through the sky, suggesting it could be a missile heading for the air base, it said.
Across the city, sirens from fire engines and the security forces could be heard for a long time, it added.
NATO said it shot down a second ballistic missile fired from Iran on Monday, prompting a stern warning from Turkiye to Tehran not to take “provocative steps.”
The announcement came shortly after Washington said it was closing down its consulate in Adana, urging all American citizens to leave southeastern Turkiye.
Since the US-Israeli war against Iran started, Tehran has launched strikes across the Middle East. Turkiye had appeared to have been spared.
As well as Incirlik air base, US troops are also stationed at Kurecik, another Turkish base that is a NATO facility in the center of the country, where a Patriot missile defense system was deployed on Tuesday.
A first missile had been intercepted by NATO defenses in Turkish air space on March 4.
There was no immediate official comment on the incident, which took place four days after NATO air defenses shot down a ballistic missile in Turkish airspace that was fired from Iran, the second in five days.
Residents of Adana, which lies 10 kilometers away from the base, were woken at around 3:25 a.m. (0025 GMT) by sirens, which sounded for around five minutes, according to the Ekonomim business news website.
It said a red alert sounded at the base.
Several people posted mobile phone footage on social media of a glowing image flying through the sky, suggesting it could be a missile heading for the air base, it said.
Across the city, sirens from fire engines and the security forces could be heard for a long time, it added.
NATO said it shot down a second ballistic missile fired from Iran on Monday, prompting a stern warning from Turkiye to Tehran not to take “provocative steps.”
The announcement came shortly after Washington said it was closing down its consulate in Adana, urging all American citizens to leave southeastern Turkiye.
Since the US-Israeli war against Iran started, Tehran has launched strikes across the Middle East. Turkiye had appeared to have been spared.
As well as Incirlik air base, US troops are also stationed at Kurecik, another Turkish base that is a NATO facility in the center of the country, where a Patriot missile defense system was deployed on Tuesday.
A first missile had been intercepted by NATO defenses in Turkish air space on March 4.
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