A Patriot missile defense system launches an interceptor missile during a live-fire exercise. NATO deployed Patriot batteries to southeastern Turkey to defend against Iranian ballistic missiles targeting Incirlik and Kurecik. Photo: US Army / Public Domain

Turkey Took Three Iranian Missiles and Still Won’t Pick a Side

Three Iranian missiles intercepted over Turkey in 18 days. Why Erdogan refuses NATO Article 5 and what it means for Saudi Arabia and the Gulf war.

$(curl -s ‘https://houseofsaud.com/wp-json/wp/v2/posts/20972?_fields=content’ | python3 -c ”
import json, sys
p = json.load(sys.stdin)
content = p[‘content’][‘rendered’]
old = ‘that precondition has not yet been met as of mid-March 2026.


new = ‘that precondition has not yet been met as of mid-March 2026. By late March, Fidan had completed a three-day shuttle through Riyadh, Doha, and Abu Dhabi urging Gulf states not to enter the war, marking a significant escalation of Turkey’s diplomatic intervention.


print(content.replace(old, new))
“)

A Counter Rocket Artillery and Mortar (C-RAM) defense system fires during a test, the same type of weapon used to intercept drones targeting the US Embassy in Baghdad. Photo: US Army / Public Domain
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A U.S. Air Force KC-135R Stratotanker at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia, one of the American military installations threatened by the IRGC. Photo: U.S. Air Force / Public Domain
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