Iran will target elements of NATO missile defense network in Turkey if attacked, Iran’s Mehr News agency said citing a senior military commander.
"If we are threatened, initially we are prepared to target the NATO missile shields in Turkey and then we will target other places,” Amir Ali Hajizadeh, commander of Iranian Revolutionary Guards’ Aerospace Force, said on Saturday.
Turkey agreed in September to host a U.S. early warning radar in the southeast of the country as part of NATO's missile defense network. The radar is aimed at countering ballistic missile threats from Iran.
Hajizadeh also said that alleged U.S. and Israeli plans to attack Iran had led to a change in Iran's defense strategy, and from now on Tehran “will counter threat with threat.”
Western powers and Israel suspect Iran of seeking to build nuclear weapons. Iran denies this, saying its program is of a civilian nature. Speculation has been building that Israel is considering a preemptive strike on Iran's nuclear facilities following the latest report by the International Atomic Energy Agency indicating that Tehran is determined to go ahead with its military nuclear program.
