MSB weekly press briefing was held at the Ministry. At the meeting, the Ministry of Defense Press and Public Relations Advisor, Rear Admiral Zeki Aktürk, shared the latest developments regarding the conflicts that started with ballistic ammunition fired from Iran and crossed the Iraqi and Syrian airspace towards Türkiye, the fight against terrorism, border security, and the attacks on Iran by Israel and the USA, and intensified with Iran’s targeting of third countries.

Rear Admiral Aktürk stated that a ballistic ammunition fired from Iran and detected to have crossed the Iraqi and Syrian airspace and headed towards Türkiye was neutralized by NATO air and missile defense elements stationed in the Eastern Mediterranean in a timely manner.

“WE EMPHASIZE ONCE AGAIN THAT OUR RIGHT TO RESPOND TO HOSTILLE ATTITUDES IS RESERVED”

Stating that the piece that fell in Hatay’s Dörtyol district after the destruction of the ammunition was determined to belong to the air defense ammunition used within the scope of the prevention activity, Aktürk said, “There was no loss of life or injury in the incident. Turkey maintains its determination and capacity to ensure the security of its citizens and airspace at the highest level and continues its responsible approach that prioritizes the preservation of regional peace and stability. However, he emphasizes once again that we reserve the right to respond to hostile attitudes, no matter who they come from; he emphasizes once again that we reserve the right to respond to hostile attitudes, regardless of who they come from; developments in NATO and “We are following it in close coordination with our other allies,” he said.

Referring to the activities carried out by the Turkish Armed Forces for the peace, security and stability of Türkiye, Aktürk said, “In the past week, 3 more PKK terrorists surrendered, and the detection and destruction of caves, shelters, shelters, mines and improvised explosives in the operation areas were carried out effectively. In the Syrian Operation Areas, where the work to destroy the tunnel systems used by the terrorist organization continues successfully, the length of the destroyed tunnel reached 761 kilometers with the 2 kilometer tunnel destroyed in the Manbij region.” “It has been reached,” he said.

“THERE IS NO CLEARANCE ON THE Türkiye-IRAN BORDER LINE”

Referring to the fact that the fight against illegal crossings and smuggling continues uninterruptedly with the gradual security system and technology-supported measures, Rear Admiral Aktürk said, “During the week, 126 people were caught, the number of people caught trying to cross illegally from January 1 to today has reached 1,200, and the number of people blocked this year has reached 11,760, with 1,495 people blocked during the week. Again, during this week; Van and Hakkari border. “A total of 116 kilograms of drugs were seized during the search and screening activities carried out on the lines. On the other hand, there is no accumulation or unusual activity on the Turkey-Iran border line due to the conflicts between Iran and Israel-USA. Intensive security measures are implemented at all our borders, including our border with Iran, and necessary precautions are taken in coordination with the relevant institutions of our state against the risks that may arise.”

Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Öncü Keçeli, made a statement on his virtual media account about the recent developments regarding the ‘Demilitarized Status of the Aegean Islands’. Keçeli said, “We find the statements made recently against the Demilitarized Status of the Aegean Islands unserious, unfortunate and untimely. There is nothing open to discussion in the objective legal status of the Eastern Aegean Islands and the Dodecanese Islands, which were placed under non-military status within the framework of the Lausanne Peace Treaty of 1923 and the Paris Peace Treaty of 1947. This being the case, there are some who want to turn the latest developments in our region into an opportunity and try to poison our bilateral relations with our NATO ally Greece at every opportunity.” It is not surprising that these circles are attempting a new fait accompli. Any step taken by these circles, which accuse Türkiye of revisionism, is null and void. What is even more exemplary is that this mentality claims to protect the Turkish Cypriots, who were the co-owners of the Island of Cyprus in the past, while today they also claim to protect them. “The developments in our region once again reveal the importance of sincere commitment to peace and stability. We take this opportunity to remind the circles that make it a habit to make unfounded claims and spread disinformation against our country and call them to common sense,” he said.

While Türkiye continues its diplomatic efforts to maintain regional peace; It takes all necessary measures to ensure the security of the airspace and its citizens. A ballistic ammunition, which was detected to be fired from Iran yesterday and headed towards Turkish airspace after passing through Iraqi and Syrian airspace, was timely engaged and neutralized by NATO air and missile defense elements stationed in the Eastern Mediterranean. Ankara, whose priority is to stop the attacks and establish a permanent ceasefire, also underlines that Türkiye is prepared for all kinds of scenarios with its military capacity, intelligence depth and crisis management ability.

It is stated that Türkiye, one of the most effective powers in the region, will not remain silent about what is being done, but will not fall prey to those who try to trap it. Ankara emphasizes that its priority is the protection of national security. The Ministry of National Defense made a statement: “It has been determined that the ammunition piece that fell in the Dörtyol district of Hatay province belonged to the air defense ammunition that was intercepting the threat in question after it was destroyed in the air. There was no loss of life or injury in the incident. We remind that we reserve the right to respond to any hostile attitude towards our country.” Turkey, which does not give credence to provocations and disinformation with its state experience, conveyed Ankara’s reaction during the meeting of Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan with his Iranian counterpart, Foreign Minister Abbas Erakchi, and conveyed to Tehran that any steps that would cause the conflicts to spread should be avoided.

HE DISCUSSED THE LATEST SITUATION WITH RUBIO

Foreign Minister Fidan also had a telephone conversation with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio yesterday. During the meeting, the latest situation in the region was evaluated and the issue of the missile that was directed towards Turkish airspace and was neutralized was discussed. On the other hand, a ballistic missile thought to belong to Iran fell in Qamishli, Syria, yesterday.

Türkiye, which uses “preventive diplomacy” channels to prevent wars and conflicts in the world and its region, also encouraged the parties to exercise moderation in the US-Iran tension. However, the idea that the issues between the two countries could not be resolved through dialogue brought the tension to the point of war. The postponement of the war was achieved by Ankara’s activation of preventive diplomacy mechanisms before the war.

Türkiye put forward the “mediation” card, considering that the regional crisis would deepen if the conflicts that have been going on for about a week were prolonged. The search for a formula that will bring the USA and Iran to the table again has begun. At this point, alternatives are being worked on so that the proposal for the two sides to choose negotiation instead of continuing the war will create the image that “neither side seems to be losing, but has achieved success at some point.”

Ankara is making efforts to bring peace to the region by encouraging the parties to behave with common sense, mutual respect and peace. On the other hand, Minister of Foreign Affairs Hakan Fidan will inform the Turkish Grand National Assembly about the developments in Iran.

Minister of Health Kemal Memişoğlu visited the stands of the Ministry of Health in the ‘Ramadan in the Complex’ event area organized under the coordination of the Presidency.

‘500 THOUSAND HEALTH AMBASSADORS’

“As our President said, we came to visit the people’s house for the Ramadan program in the Social Complex,” said Memişoğlu, adding, “We thank those who contributed. This place is truly like a paradise; it is lively with children and young people. Here, we are trying to make our children health ambassadors, saying ‘Healthy Children Will Come to Health’. We are trying to instill the culture of health and health awareness in them.”

Because our goal is for the society to gain health without getting sick,” he said. Minister Memişoğlu said that the ‘Healthy Child, Health Future’ program is a program to provide health-related education and raise awareness in schools and said, “So far, we have made approximately 500 thousand children health ambassadors in this program. Here, in 13 days, we provided training to 15 thousand children with health ambassadors to instill a culture of health. We made practical demonstrations. First of all, I would like to thank everyone who organized this work. Ramadan; It is the most important month where unity, will, self, and also social life are experienced. Our holy month is ours. “I wish everyone a happy holiday in advance,” he said.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan attended the “Iftar with Mehmetçik” program held at the Special Forces Command. Erdoğan said the following in his speech here: If we, as a nation, want to live in peace and tranquility in these lands, which are our eternal homeland, we have to constantly increase our deterrence. In these troubled days that our region is going through, we never leave anything to chance regarding the security of our borders and airspace.

WE MAKE OUR WARNINGS CLEARLY: As in the incident this morning (yesterday), we take all precautions in close consultation with our NATO allies and take the necessary intervention immediately. We make our warnings clearly to prevent similar incidents from happening again. Our will and capacity to ensure the security of our country and nation are at the highest level.

WE WILL BUILD TURKEY’S CENTURY: In the last 23 years, despite all kinds of obstacles, embargoes, sabotage and betrayals, we worked tirelessly, believed in ourselves, trusted our nation, and as a result, we have reached unimaginable levels today. Hopefully we will be in much better places. We will definitely build the Türkiye Century. We will disrupt all games, overcome all obstacles, and hopefully succeed in leaving this country to our children as a trust they will be proud of, without falling into the traps they want to draw us into.

Türkiye ISLAND OF STABILITY: First in Çanakkale, and lastly in our War of Independence, we managed to break the dirty and treacherous hands that reached out to our name, one by one, despite all the impossibilities. If we didn’t have this fighting spirit, we wouldn’t be able to live with our heads held high for over a thousand years in the most turbulent region of the world. If we stand out today as an island of stability in the midst of the ring of fire burning around us, we owe this first to our national character, which never accepts captivity, and then to the deterrence of our heroic army.

TURKISH ARMY IS A SOURCE OF TRUST: Behind the globally appreciated political, diplomatic and economic power of the Republic of Türkiye; There are Turkish Armed Forces that impress all over the world with their training, equipment, discipline, courage and vision. The Turkish army has become a source of trust for our nation and millions of friends and brothers living in our heartland.

THE SOULS OF OUR MARTYRS WILL LIGHT OUR PATH

We are members of a religion that gives the good news that martyrs do not die, but that they live. The holy souls of our martyrs will guide us, guide us, and illuminate our path in the holy march of our nation. Our maroon berets, the apple of the eye of the Turkish Armed Forces, have written legends both at home and beyond the border, especially in the fight against terrorism. As a nation, we are proud of our maroon berets who played vital roles in many critical operations, known and unknown.

WE DID NOT LIE TO THOSE WHO SAID FISH ARE SCARED

We continue to strengthen our heroic army by providing all kinds of support. Most recently, we held a very important opening ceremony at HAVELSAN last week. We laid the foundation of the simulator production and integration facility, which will be the largest in Europe when completed. We completed the year 2025 with a record figure exceeding 10 billion dollars in defense and aerospace exports. In the NATO exercise held in Germany, our armed forces made us proud with their capabilities and received great appreciation from our allies. If we had listened to those who said “Don’t test missiles, the fish are scared”, of course we would not have been able to achieve any of this.