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Turkey

Turkey

June 20, 2026

Ankara 12:27 pm

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This photograph shows a Turkish national flag at the Razi-Kapikoy border crossing with Iran next to a black flag on the Iranian side, following the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in eastern Turkey on March 2, 2026.

Analysis

Turkey eyes gains from US-Iran deal as Ankara balances Tehran, Washington

Turkey sees the US-Iran memorandum as a chance to reduce regional spillover risks, revive trade with Tehran and gain diplomatic breathing room.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

A Turkish police officers patrols at the scene of a motor-bike bomb explosion, next to a police station on Oct. 6, 2016, in Istanbul.

Turkey captures alleged ISIS-K media chief near Afghanistan-Pakistan border

The capture comes as Turkish authorities intensify raids against Islamic State networks following recent attacks and alleged plots.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan meets with Orthodox Patriarch of Bartholomew at the presidential complex, Ankara, Turkey, June 16, 2026.

Culture

Turkey’s Erdogan meets Orthodox patriarch amid push for reopening Halki Seminary

The meeting comes ahead of US President Trump’s expected attendance at next month's NATO leaders’ summit in Turkey, after Trump personally urged his Turkish counterpart to reopen the Halki Seminary.

Latest News

Turkey’s Fidan heads to Moscow as S-400 sanctions issue returns to fore

Turkey's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan attends the NATO Foreign Ministers' meeting in Helsingborg, Sweden, on May 22, 2026.

Analysis

Erdogan-Netanyahu war of words signals deeper rivalry for regional influence

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan received Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Turkish House in New York on Sept. 19, 2023.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Feature

Turkey’s World Cup return clouded by politics, dawn kickoffs

Yasin AKGUL / AFP via Getty Images

Ezgi Akin

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

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

Soldiers guard coffins of victims of the thwarted coup during a funeral service in Ankara, Turkey, July 17, 2016. REUTERS/Baz Ratner - RTSIDQK

'New Turkey' finds founding myth in failed coup

The political narrative about the failed July 15 coup attempt is entering Turkey’s textbooks as the core of a new shape of Turkish nationalism.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addresses the United Nations General Assembly in the Manhattan borough of New York, U.S. September 20, 2016. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz - RTSONR7

Are Ankara, Washington on collision course in Syria?

The tension between Turkey and the United States is threatening to sharply escalate with any missteps in the dance between Turkey's anti-Kurdish objectives and Washington's support for Syrian Kurdish groups.

Wanted: Men to boycott male-only panels on Turkish TV

Women have regressed from a mere minority to a real rarity on Turkish political TV programs, and a protest movement is finding little support from their powerful male colleagues.

Kurdish fighters from the People's Protection Units (YPG) greet each other in the northeastern city of Hasaka, Syria, August 21, 2016. REUTERS/Rodi Said - RTX2MENR

Why US' biggest challenge to fighting IS in Syria might be its own allies

The Obama administration’s no-boots-on-the-ground policy in Iraq and Syria has forced it to employ creative solutions to manage the complex battlefield. But for how long?

A member of Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA), seen with the Islamic State flags in the background, walks outside of a building in the border town of Jarablus, Syria, August 31, 2016. REUTERS/Umit Bektas - RTX2NQ7V

Turkey seeks more military cooperation with US in Syria

Analysts who say the FSA is not a viable force against IS argue that the Turkish military needs the help of US forces as it prepares to move on the IS stronghold of al-Bab.

Alain Le Roy, under-secretary-general for Peacekeeping Operations at the United Nations, looks on in a helicopter during his visit at the Golf Hotel, headquarters of Alassane Ouattara, in Abidjan December 27, 2010, where a detachment of UNOCI peacekeepers provides security. An election meant to resolve Ivory Coast's decade-long political crisis has resulted in two rivals claiming the presidency, with incumbent Laurent Gbagbo defying world pressure to hand over to Ouattara. The standoff has killed more than

Veteran French diplomat: EU should play greater role in resolving Syria crisis

French diplomat Alain Le Roy discusses the European Union's "unstable" and "insecure" borders and its greater challenge of resolving the crisis in Syria.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin interacts with Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan as they pose for a group picture during the G20 Summit in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, China September 4, 2016. REUTERS/Damir Sagolj TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTX2O1GI

New Turkey-Russia hotline still subject to static

Russia and Turkey are effusive about the positive gains in their relationship, but ties remain tenuous where Syria is concerned.

Turkish police stands guard in front of the Istanbul courthouse on July 20, 2016 following the military coup attempt of July 15.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was today to chair a crunch security meeting in Ankara for the first time since the failed coup, with tens of thousands either detained or sacked from their jobs in a widening purge. / AFP / BULENT KILIC (Photo credit should read BULENT KILIC/AFP/Getty Images)

Turkey could find itself facing hefty legal bill for mass purges

The mass expulsions of public servants after the July 15 coup attempt bode big legal trouble for Turkey, legal experts warn.

Demonstrators scuffle with riot police during a protest against the suspension of teachers from classrooms over alleged links with Kurdish militants, in the southeastern city of Diyarbakir, Turkey, September 9, 2016. REUTERS/Sertac Kayar - RTX2OU7N

'Settlement schmettlement': Turkish purges target Kurds

Government crackdown targets include Kurds, military officers, educators and intellectuals, as well as supporters of Fethullah Gulen.

Turkey’s senior citizens get their first university

Akdeniz University has launched Turkey’s first academic program for senior citizens as the problem of an ageing population looms large for the country in the coming decades.

Turkish army tanks take position on top of a hill near Mursitpinar border crossing in the southeastern Turkish town of Suruc in Sanliurfa province, Turkey, October 11, 2014. REUTERS/Umit Bektas/File photo - RTSJOQM

How post-coup purges depleted Turkey's military

New data shows military purges by the Turkish government in the aftermath of the July 15 coup attempt have adversely affected the combat strength of the Turkish Armed Forces.

MADRID, SPAIN - MARCH 30: Turkish author and Nobel Prize in Literature Orhan Pamuk attends "Vargas Llosa: Cultura, Ideas Y Libertad" seminar at Casa de America on March 30, 2016 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Carlos Alvarez/Getty Images)

Repression of Turkish intellectuals elicits global response

Nobel laureates, intelligentsia and celebrities around the world unite against the arbitrary detention of Turkish authors.