Turkey - AL-MONITOR: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

Turkey

Turkey

September 6, 2026

Ankara 5:13 am

19°C

TAI Hurjet

Analysis

With Hurjet test, Turkey seeks defense dominance beyond drones

With export revenue from the supersonic crewed aircraft, Ankara plans to fund next-generation projects and gain strategic diplomatic and military leverage across NATO and the region.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Ibrahim Kalin, Turkish presidential spokesperson, gives a press conference at the Presidential Complex, Ankara, May 25, 2022.

Turkey and Greece's intelligence chiefs hold rare talks: What to know

The meeting comes after Turkey recently warned Greece over what it called an arms race in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

US sanctions Turkey-based bank over Iran ties

The Treasury Department said Golden Global Bank was facilitating transactions for Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Mecca Alliance

Israel, Greece sign $3.5 billion air-defense deal: What to know

Against the backdrop of growing tensions with Turkey, Israel signed one of its largest-ever defense industry deals to supply Greece with advanced air defense systems.

Latest News

Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Pakistan set Mecca Alliance into motion

Mecca Alliance

Analysis

Why Turkey welcomes Israel-Syria talks despite mounting red lines

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa arrive for a joint press conference following their meeting at the Presidential Palace in Ankara, Feb. 4, 2025.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Culture

In divided Cyprus, FC Barcelona youth camp sparks new dispute: What to know

Barcelona

Samuel Wendel

Senior Analyst, Middle East Business & Tech

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Amberin Zaman

Chief Correspondent

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Jack Dutton

Chief Business Correspondent

In Bristol, reporting on regional business, climate change, AI, tech

Ezgi Akin

Associate Editor (Turkey)

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

Francesco Schiavi

In Bologna, reporting on security, defense, economy, governance

Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

A picture taken on Nov. 12, 2021 shows migrants in a camp on the Belarusian-Polish border in the Grodno region. - Hundreds of desperate migrants are trapped in freezing temperatures on the border and the presence of troops from both sides has raised fears of a confrontation.

Airlines suspend Belarus-bound travel for Middle East migrants

Turkish Airlines and Iraqi Airlines restricting flights to Minsk for citizens of Iraq, Syria and Yemen.

Burak Kara/Getty Images

Turks demand protection after woman killed with sword

In the wake of a headline-making femicide in Istanbul, activists and politicians have revived calls to return to the Istanbul Convention.

Police check approaching vehicles at a checkpoint along a road leading toward the border with Belarus on Nov. 10, 2021, near Kuznica, Poland.

Turkish Airlines denies fueling Belarus-Poland migration crisis

After EU officials threatened to blacklist airlines facilitating travel for asylum-seekers amassing at the Poland-Belarus border, Turkish Airlines denied links to the bloc’s latest migration crisis.

Supporters of the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood.

Muslim Brotherhood exiles in Turkey face uncertain future

The rapprochement between Ankara and Cairo has catalyzed internal rifts between exiled leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood.

Mazlum Kobane (Mazlum Abdi), commander-in-chief of the Syrian Democratic Forces.

Syrian Kurdish commander says Russia opposes further Turkish land grabs

Mazlum Kobane, commander in chief of the Syrian Democratic Forces, also says Damascus is not yet ready for negotiations.

Turkish author and Nobel Prize in literature winner Orhan Pamuk.

Nobel laureate Orhan Pamuk faces probe for insulting Turkey’s founder

Following an Istanbul court’s decision to launch an investigation into “Nights of Plague,” the recent novel by Orhan Pamuk, many writers and activists are rallying to support the Nobel laureate.

ILYAS AKENGIN/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey’s Kurds revive fight for language rights

Many Kurdish groups have joined forces to promote the Kurdish language and press Ankara for greater language rights.

Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan attends a press conference at the end of the Rome G20 Summit, on Oct. 31, 2021 in Rome, Italy.

Turkey cracks down on speculation about Erdogan’s health

Rumors focusing on Erdogan’s hospitalization and death lead to announcement of investigation against 30 social media users, but online chatter continues.

A horse drawn carriage passes by in a street on the island of Buyukada off Istanbul on Nov. 29, 2019.

Rezoning of Istanbul islands raises concerns of AKP meddling

A presidential decree has transferred zoning control of Istanbul’s opposition-run Princes’ Islands to the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization, raising concerns of anti-democratic practices by Turkey’s ruling party.

Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Turkey terminates post of several honorary consuls critical of government

The Turkish Foreign Ministry’s termination of posts for nine consul generals, including those from Belgium, Austria, Sweden and the UK, are attributed to some of the consuls’ criticism of government policies and their political links with opposition parties.

People shop at an open-air market in Ankara.

Turkish inflation nears 20% on rising food, energy costs

While Turkey’s latest official inflation figures beat expectations, raising some concerns over data integrity, consumer prices are expected to keep rising amid growing global energy costs.

Turkey economy

Interest payments top education, healthcare in Ankara’s 2022 budget

Funds allocated to interest payments account for 13% of all spending in Ankara’s draft budget for next year, outstripping education and healthcare spending.