New Delhi, March 5 -- North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) said a ballistic missile launched from Iran was targeting Turkey before it was intercepted, contradicting an earlier claim by a Turkish official that the missile had been aimed at a military base in Cyprus.

A NATO spokesperson confirmed the alliance's assessment on Thursday in remarks to AFP.

When asked whether the missile had deliberately targeted locations in Turkey, NATO spokesman Martin O'Donnell replied: "Yes."

He also pointed to NATO's formal response issued earlier regarding the incident.

In an earlier statement, another NATO spokesperson, Allison Hart, condemned what the alliance described as an attack directed at Turkey.

"The alliance condemns Iran's targeting o...