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Turkey

Turkey

June 20, 2026

Ankara 3:00 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

A member of the Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) patrols in the border town of Jarablus, Syria, August 31, 2016. REUTERS/Umit Bektas TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTX2NQ2X

Turkey reaches critical crossroads in Syria

Turkey has an important decision to make now that it has helped Free Syrian Army troops win a major battle for border control in northern Syria.

Pro-Kurdish politicians wearing t-shirts featuring Abdullah Ocalan gather to start a hunger strike to demand the right to visit the jailed PKK militant leader Ocalan, in Diyarbakir, Turkey, September 5, 2016. REUTERS/Sertac Kayar - RTX2O6JE

Is Abdullah Ocalan key to peace between Turkey, PKK?

Many Kurds believe Abdullah Ocalan holds the key to peace between Turkey and the Kurdistan Workers Party, but does he retain the power to deliver?

Fighters of the Syria Democratic Forces (SDF) stand inside a building near Manbij, in Aleppo Governorate, Syria, June 17, 2016. REUTERS/Rodi Said/File Photo - RTX2HMHI

US backing ensures Arab-Kurd alliance in Syria will survive

Liwa al-Tahrir walking out of its alliance with the Kurdish People's Protection Units caused plenty of excitement in Turkey, but did it really change anything in Syria?

A picture taken on August 2, 2016 shows a picture of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (L) on a billboard and a mask bearing a picture of US-based preacher Fethullah Gulen set up on a dummy at the Kizilay Square in Ankara during a protest against the failed military coup, on August 2, 2016.
Erdogan said on August 2, 2016 last month's attempted coup was a scenario drawn up from outside Turkey, in an allusion to possible foreign involvement in the plot. Erdogan, who blames the plot on the US-based prea

Why Turkey’s Gulenist purge is going way too far

The Gulenist threat to Turkish democracy was not a myth, yet the anti-Gulenist purge itself is now also a major threat if it continues along the same path.

European Union (L) and Turkish flags fly outside a hotel in Istanbul, Turkey May 4, 2016. REUTERS/Murad Sezer/File Photo - RTX2EIB4

EU tries to mend fences with Turkey following attempted coup

European officials stream to Turkey to overcome tensions that are putting arrangements such as the migration agreement at risk, but serious differences remain.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (C) attends a ceremony at the Ataturk mausoleum to mark the 94th anniversary of Turkeys Victory Day in Ankara on August 30, 2016. / AFP / ADEM ALTAN (Photo credit should read ADEM ALTAN/AFP/Getty Images)

How Army Day highlighted growing repercussions of Turkey's failed coup

The forlorn observance of the traditionally joyous Victory Day in Turkey points to further polarization between conservatives and Kemalist secularists since the failed coup.

Military vehicles of the Kurdish Peshmerga forces are seen on the southeast of Mosul , Iraq, August 14, 2016. REUTERS/Azad Lashkari - RTX2KS2U

What is Turkish army really doing in Iraq?

It is not clear who will take control if Mosul is liberated from the Islamic State, but Turkey and its allies want nothing more than to prevent the Kurds from declaring a semi-autonomous state in the region.

A member of Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA), seen with a mural of the Islamic State in the background, stands guard in front of a building in the border town of Jarablus, Syria, August 31, 2016. REUTERS/Umit Bektas TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTX2NQ4X

Will Turkey be dragged deeper into Syria?

US military support for Kurdish forces pulled Turkey into Syria, but the IS factor will now determine whether or not Turkey gets bogged down.

A supporter of Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan steps on a photo of U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen during a pro-government demonstration on Taksim Square in Istanbul, Turkey, July 18, 2016. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis - RTSILD2

Turkey expands assault on independent media

The Erdogan government’s crackdown on "enemy within" includes free press; Iran and Russia may gain from strains in US-Turkey ties; Aleppo key to "undivided Syria"; Iran likely to deepen ties with Russia over Syria.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu (R) tries a piece of Turkish delight, "lokum", as he visits members of the Turkish community in the Kreuzberg neighborhood in Berlin on May 11, 2013. AFP PHOTO / ADAM BERRY (Photo credit should read ADAM BERRY/AFP/Getty Images)

To the delight of Americans, a taste of Turkey now sold close by

Specialty stores selling fresh lokum, or Turkish delight, are opening across the US, serving a variety of options for health-conscious candy lovers.

A picture taken on July 18, 2016 shows a poster picturing US-based preacher Fethullah Gulen burning during a Pro-Erdogan supporters rally at Taksim square in Istanbul on July 18, 2016 following the military failed coup attempt of July 15.
Turkish security forces on July 18 carried out new raids against suspected plotters of the botched coup against the rule of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, as international concern grew over the scale of the crackdown. Thousands of pro-Erdogan supporters waving Turkish fla

Gulenist crisis sets off intra-Islamic debate in Turkey

The failed coup attempt has not only set a new tone for Turkish politics, but also triggered wide soul-searching and finger-pointing within Islamist circles.

Turkish riot police stand guard as Kurdish women (unseen) sit during a protest in downtown Istanbul, on August 29, 2011. The group of Kurdish women gathered to protest Turkish military air strikes against Kurdish separatists in northern Iraq. Meanwhile, Turkish jets bombed bases in northern Iraq used by the separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in a fresh campaign which has killed as many as 160 rebels since last week, the military said on August 29. AFP PHOTO / BULENT KILIC (Photo credit should read BU

Turkish women in police force allowed to wear headscarves

As critics continue to accuse the ruling Justice and Development Party of changing the nature of Turkey’s secular state, government supporters celebrate further relaxations of the earlier headscarf bans as more religious freedom.