EXCLUSIVE-NATO's Rutte does not see need to invoke Art. 5 after missile incident

By Andrew Gray

BRUSSELS, March 5 (Reuters) - The shooting down of a ballistic missile headed for Turkey by NATO air defences does not provide immediate reason to trigger the alliance's Article 5 mutual defence clause, its Secretary General Mark Rutte told Reuters on Thursday.

"Nobody's talking about Article 5," Rutte said. "The most important thing is that our adversaries have seen yesterday that NATO is so strong and so vigilant, and even more vigilant, if possible, since Saturday."

Turkey said NATO air defences destroyed an Iranian ballistic missile as it headed into Turkish airspace, marking the first time the alliance member has been drawn into the Middle East conflict and raising the possibility of an expansion involving its bloc allies.

The Iranian Armed Forces General Staff on Thursday denied it had fired missiles at Turkey, saying the Islamic Republic respected the sovereignty of "friendly" Turkey, according to a statement carried by Iranian media.

NATO's alliance's Article 5 specifies that an attack on one of the alliance's members is an attack on all the others.

Rutte said NATO supports the United States in its strikes against Iran as the country was "close to becoming a threat to Europe as well".

As the U.S.–Iran war entered its sixth day, the conflict has widened beyond Gulf states and into Asia, convulsing global markets and prompting thousands of stranded tourists and residents to try to flee the Middle East.