Turkey has been watching with growing concern as the war between its neighbor Iran and the US and Israel escalates. Ankara fears the conflict could destabilize the region.

By Tuvan Gumrukcu ANKARA, March 10 (Reuters) - Turkey said on Tuesday that a U.S. Patriot air defence system was deployed to its southeast, near a NATO radar base, as part of steps by the alliance to boost air defences in the face of missile threats from the Iran war.

Turkey deployed a large fleet of warships in Northern Cyprus and deployed six F-16 fighter jets and air defense systems in Northern Cyprus.

Ankara said NATO defenses intercepted a ballistic missile fired from Iran that was heading toward Turkish airspace, as Turkish officials called for restraint amid rising regional tensions.

Turkey has more levers to pull in Iran's crisis than any other regional actor — and more to lose. Here is what Ankara does next.

Under relentless Israeli-US attack, Iran has bombarded US assets in the Gulf, but so far has not touched Turkey which would be a "high-cost strategic gamble" that could go disastrously wrong, analysts said.