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Turkey

June 11, 2026

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Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan buttons up his jacket during a press conference after the conclusion of the G20 Leaders' Summit at the Nasrec Expo Centre in Johannesburg on November 23, 2025.

Explainer

Turkey-Israel tensions flare over Syria, Lebanon, East Med: What to know

The Turkish president has accused Israel of threatening Turkey through its military actions in Syria, Lebanon and the Eastern Mediterranean, triggering a sharp exchange with the Israeli prime minister.

Latest News

Explainer

Turkey names new envoys to Iran, Oman, Qatar in regional reshuffle

Aamir QURESHI / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Turkey's probe into pro-secular tycoon goes beyond crude Kurdish joke

Rahmi Koc

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Explainer

Saudi Arabia, Turkey advance plans to revive historic Hejaz Railway

An old locomotive sits outside the Hejaz rail station in old Damascus on February 23, 2010. The Hejaz railway ran from Damascucs to Medina in Saudi Arabia and was part of the Ottoman railway network. AFP PHOTO/LOUAI BESHARA (Photo credit should read LOUAI BESHARA/AFP via Getty Images)

Samuel Wendel

Senior Market Research Analyst

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

BRUSSELS, BELGIUM - JULY 12: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrives at the 2018 NATO Summit at NATO headquarters on July 12, 2018 in Brussels, Belgium. Leaders from NATO member and partner states are meeting for a two-day summit, which is being overshadowed by strong demands by U.S. President Trump for most NATO member countries to spend more on defense. (Photo by Jasper Juinen/Getty Images)

Pence escalates Trump-Erdogan rift with tweeted threats

The US-Turkey brawl over American pastor Andrew Brunson is as intense as ever, as the Turkish president and US leaders exchange public threats and messages of defiance.

A Syrian Army soldier loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad forces stands next to a military weapon in Idlib, Syria January 21, 2018. Picture taken January 21, 2018. SANA/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. REUTERS IS UNABLE TO INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE AUTHENTICITY, CONTENT, LOCATION OR DATE OF THIS IMAGE. - RC19C0D8B740

Syria's Idlib emerges as Achilles heel in Russia-Turkey partnership

Although Turkey is desperately trying to postpone an imminent Idlib operation by Syrian forces, a compromise doesn’t look likely.

A Syrian boy holds the Iranian flag as a truck carrying aid provided by Iran arrives in the eastern city of Deir Ezzor on September 20, 2017 while Syrian government forces continue to press forward with Russian air cover in the offensive against Islamic State group jihadists across the province.
Two separate offensives are under way against the jihadists in the area -- one by the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, the other by Russian-backed government forces. The Syrian army now controls around 70 percent

Did Israel nix Russian deal on Iran-backed forces in Syria?

Putin intensifies diplomacy with Israel and Turkey, as Iran adjusts its Syria policy after Helsinki; Damascus and Syrian Kurds keep talking; Al-Monitor breaks story on costs of US Embassy in Jerusalem.

Is Turkey refusing to register new Syrian refugees?

Istanbul denies claims from Human Rights Watch that Turkey has stopped registering Syrian refugees.

Russia-Turkey ties face 'moment of truth' over Syria's Idlib

Presidents Putin and Erdogan met on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Johannesburg to discuss growing tensions over Idlib, where Russia and Turkey may be facing their moment of truth.

A man scans his thumbprint during a registration process for a new Identification card at al-Bab city council offices in the northeast of Aleppo, Syria July 15, 2018. Picture Taken July 15, 2018. REUTERS/ Khalil Ashawi - RC1F92F66FE0

Syrians in opposition-held areas near Aleppo obtain new IDs

With Turkey’s help, al-Bab’s local council started issuing new IDs to Syrians who had lost them in the war, a move that will soon be applicable in the entire Euphrates Shield area.

Turkey makes payout to families of FSA fighters killed in Afrin operation

The Turkish government has paid the families of Free Syrian Army militants killed in Operation Olive Branch a death gratuity, though the families of those Syrians killed in other operations are still waiting for aid.

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Bob Corker (R-TN) speaks to U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (Not Pictured) as ranking member Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) looks on during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing titled "An Update on American Diplomacy to Advance Our National Security Strategy" on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., July 25, 2018. REUTERS/Aaron Bernstein - RC1E51F466C0

Washington ratchets up sanctions threats against Turkey

President Donald Trump threatened to impose sanctions on the same day the Senate advanced a bill restricting Turkey’s access to financial assistance.

U.S. President Donald Trump talks to Turkeyís President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium July 11, 2018. Tatyana Zenkovich/Pool via REUTERS - RC1B9A3C2D00

Trump lashes out at Erdogan, threatens sanctions over Brunson

The strain between Turkey and the United States hits another high point as the US president threatened Ankara with "large sanctions" if it does not free detained American pastor Andrew Brunson.

Turkish aid agency caught in Netanyahu-Erdogan crossfire

Israel's National Security Council has advised Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to react to the recent vitriol from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan with sanctions against a Turkish aid agency.

US pastor Andrew Craig Brunson escorted by Turkish plain clothes police officers arrives at his house on July 25, 2018 in Izmir. - Turkey on July 15, 2018 moved from jail to house arrest US pastor Andrew Brunson who has spent almost two years imprisoned on terror-related charges, in a controversial case that has ratcheted up tensions with the United States. Andrew Brunson, who ran a protestant church in the Aegean city of Izmir, was first detained in October 2016 and had remained in prison in Turkey ever si

What prompted Turkey to move US pastor from prison to house arrest?

The United States must determine what best motivates Turkey when it comes to foreign policy and diplomacy: the carrot or the stick.

A prisoner transport vehicle leaves after the trial of US Pastor Andrew Brunson who is datainined in Turkey for over a year on Terror charges, in Aliaga, north of Izmir, on July 18, 2018. - Andrew Brunson, head of a small Protestant church in the western city of Izmir, has been in detention since October 2016. Turkish prosecutors accuse Brunson of links to a group led by US-based Muslim preacher Fethullah Gulen -- who Ankara says was behind a failed 2016 coup -- and the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). (Phot

US pastor granted transfer to house arrest by Turkish court

American pastor Andrew Brunson has won a long-awaited move from prison to house arrest from the Turkish court, which credited "health issues" for its reversal.