Maritime strategy

KHALED DESOUKI/AFP via Getty Images

Iran warning near Hormuz collides with Red Sea shipping comeback

Armed boats attempted to intercept a vessel near the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, the same day that major container lines also announced the resumption of limited transits through the Suez Canal.

In this handout provided by the US Navy, The USS Gerald R. Ford, and Italian navy offshore Patrol Vessel ITS Paolo Thaon di Revel operate in the Mediterranean Sea, Oct. 2, 2025.

Analysis

Why Trump’s Venezuela playbook could face hard reality in Iran

On Wednesday, Trump said an armada larger than the one sent to Venezuela is heading toward Iran and “like with Venezuela,” it is ready to employ force if necessary.

By Rosaleen Carroll

In Washington, DC, US, reporting on the Middle East

Somalis celebrate the victory of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan after he won the presidential run-off election during the celebration organized by the government in Mogadishu, on May 29, 2023.

Analysis

Turkey casts Israel’s Somaliland move as overreach, but Somalia’s fragility poses risks

Israel’s recognition of Somaliland is widely dismissed in Ankara as a strategic overreach, but it is nevertheless exposing the limits of Turkey’s influence in Somalia.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

A picture taken at the port of Dilovasi, outside Istanbul, on June 20, 2019, shows the drilling ship Yavuz scheduled to search for oil and gas off Cyprus.

Turkey eyes offshore energy pact with Syria in 2026 amid East Med isolation

Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar has offered up details on a deal with Syria that could unsettle regional rivals in the gas-rich Eastern Mediterranean.

Latest News

Turkey seeks two-year extension of Libya troop mandate

Libyan military graduates loyal to the UN-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) take part in a parade marking their graduation, a result of a military training agreement with Turkey, at the Omar Mukhtar camp in the city of Tajoura, southeast of the capital Tripoli on November 21, 2020. (Photo by Mahmud TURKIA / AFP) (Photo by MAHMUD TURKIA/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

As Turkey’s East Med isolation deepens, will Ankara seek maritime Syria deal?

Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides signs documents with Lebanese Minister of Public Works and Transport Fayez Rasamny, as Lebanon's president, Joseph Aoun, looks on during an agreement signing ceremony at the presidential palace of Baabda, east of Beirut, on Nov. 26, 2025.

Ezgi Akin

In Ankara, reporting on diplomacy, EU-Turkey ties, NATO

Analysis

Turkey moves into Somalia’s untapped oil, raises stakes in Horn of Africa

This picture taken on Aug. 23, 2019 in Istanbul shows a view of Turkish General Directorate of Mineral research and Exploration's (MTA) Oruc Reis seismic research vessel docked at Haydarpasa port, which searches for hydrocarbon, oil, natural gas and coal reserves at sea.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Ankara open to US mediation role in Turkey-Greece row with conditions: Source

SAKIS MITROLIDIS/AFP via Getty Images

Suez Canal Red Sea entrance

Egypt's Sisi approves plan to widen, deepen Suez Canal after stuck ship

The plan includes widening and deepening the area where Ever Given got stuck in March.

Zachary Pearson- U.S. Navy via Getty Images

Iran denies US Navy’s account of run-in in Persian Gulf

Iran has accused the US Navy of “false narratives” and “unprofessional behavior” in the latest run-in with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

A man walks near a laundry clothing line hanging in the open by a building in the city of Tawergha, some 200 kilometres (125 miles) east of Libya's capital close to the port city of Misrata, on Dec. 12, 2020.

Libyan conflict stands out as key to Turkey-Egypt normalization

Turkey appears reluctant to back down from its military posture in Libya, even as its normalization bid with Egypt depends greatly on whether the two sides find common ground in the Libyan conflict.

Locals watch as the the stricken Kuzma Minin is towed out to sea in Falmouth on Dec. 18, 2018 in Cornwall, England.

Russian ship gets stuck near Caspian en route to Iran

The cargo vessel got stuck in a canal north of the Caspian Sea while bringing goods to Iran. Russia and Iran have lobbied for an alternative to the Suez Canal through their countries recently.

A US Navy personnel mans a heavy machine gun as he watches a Riverine Command Boat (C) cruising past the USS Ponci in the Arabian Sea, on the first day of the the biggest mine countermeasures exercise in the Arabian Gulf, May 13, 2013.

US Navy seizes massive shipment of weapons in Arabian Sea

A video released by the Navy onboard the USS Monterey showed a massive cache of arms seized from a stateless vessel in the Arabian Sea.

A picture taken from the Greek-Cypriot side of the divided Cypriot capital Nicosia on April 24, 2021, shows metal flags of Turkey (L) and the self-declared Turkish Republic of North Cyprus (TRNC), recognized only by Ankara, above the Turkish-controlled side of the divided capital.

Turkey sees turning point in failed Cyprus summit

Turkey hopes for British support as it takes on a more hawkish posture on the Cyprus conflict, risking fresh tensions with the European Union.

Iranian Army office/AFP via Getty Images

US Navy fires warning shots in encounter with Iranian patrol boats

A US Navy patrol ship fired warning shots to ward off Iranian boats in the Persian Gulf on Monday, marking the second run-in between the two countries’ naval forces this month.

Turkish Cypriot police stand before a portrait of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in the disputal coastal town of Varosha, in Famagusta, Cyprus, Nov. 15, 2020.

Erdogan furious as his Islamic ambitions stumble in Turkish Cyprus

A Turkish Cypriot court ruling that reins back on Quranic courses comes as a poignant message to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that Cypriot Turks are unwilling to sign up to his quest to raise “devout generations.”

This picture taken on Nov. 5, 2019, during the International Maritime Exercise (IMX) in the Gulf waters off Bahrain shows a close-up of the badge of the Combined Maritime Forces (CMF) multinational naval partnership worn on the uniform of a British serviceman.

Egypt joins Gulf region’s Combined Maritime Forces led by US

Egypt's participation in the task force comes as Russia seeks closer defense ties with Cairo and Sudan.

Greece's Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias (C) walks on Istiklal Avenue after his meeting with the Patriarch of Constantinople at the Greek Consulate in Istanbul on April 14, 2021.

Turkey's efforts to woo rivals yield mixed results

Diplomatically isolated and economically weak, Turkey is seeking to repair relations with its regional foes. But it's no easy task.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan delivers a speech following an evaluation meeting at the Presidential Complex in Ankara on April 5, 2021. Erdogan accused dozens of retired admirals of eyeing a "political coup" by attacking his plans for a canal linking the Black Sea to the Mediterranean.

Turkish court releases detained admirals

The 10 admirals were arrested last week after criticizing the possible Turkish withdrawal from the Montreux Convention, which regulates maritime traffic through the strategic Bosporus Strait.

Lebanese people sit in boats in the Mediterranean Sea as the Tungsten Explorer, a drillship to explore for oil and gas off the coast of Lebanon, is seen in the background in Dbayeh north of the capital, Beirut, on May 15, 2020.

Lebanon expands maritime territorial claim amid dispute with Israel

Last year's talks between Israel and Lebanon on their gas-rich Mediterranean Sea border failed to yield an agreement.