Iran on Thursday denied Turkey's claim that the Iranian military fired a missile toward Turkish airspace, according to the New York Times.

Turkey said Wednesday that NATO, of which it is a member, had shot down the Iranian missile. 

NATO has acknowledged shooting down a missile, thought to have been fired by Iran.

Secretary General Mark Rutte told Reuters on Thursday that the alliance did not need to activate its mutual defense clause over the missile but stated the group ⁠supports the U.S. military campaign against Iran, saying that the Islamic country was “close to ​becoming a threat to Europe as well.”

NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Agreement, is a military alliance among 32 member states – including the United States. One of its major tenets, Article 5, is that an armed attack against one member state is considered an attack against all, triggering a collective defense response.

European countries have accelerated their plans to deploy military assets in the Middle East to protect their citizens and interests, with Italy saying that it was sending air defense support to Gulf countries. Some European leaders have backed President Trump’s strikes on Iran, while others have been more cautious or critical.

Also on Thursday, two Iranian drones fell into Azerbaijan, and more Iranian strikes were reported in Israel and Iraq.

Azerbaijan’s foreign ministry said that the two drones fell into Nakhchivan, an Azerbaijani exclave along Iran’s northern border, injuring two civilians. Iran’s armed forces denied that it had fired drones at Azerbaijan and blamed the action on Israel.