Turkey - AL-Monitor: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent since 2012

Turkey

Turkey

March 20, 2026

Ankara 8:07 am

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Turkey's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan (R) and Qatar's Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani (2L) arrive to address a joint press conference in Doha on March 19, 2026. (Photo by Karim JAAFAR / AFP via Getty Images)

Turkey, Qatar pledge to deepen defense ties, blame Israel for Iran war

Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan’s trip to Doha is part of a Gulf tour that began Wednesday in Riyadh, as Iran continues to strike energy assets across the region.

A Patriot anti-missile battery launcher, deployed by Dutch NATO soldiers, is seen March 11, 2003 at the Diyarbakir military airport in southeastern Turkey.

NATO deploys new Patriot battery to Turkey as Fidan in Riyadh for regional talks

The deployment to a key Turkish airbase likely signals NATO planners’ heightened concern over Turkey’s military assets.

An Iraqi oil tanker waits at the Khawr Abd Allah canal leading up to Al-Faw port in southern Iraq, on June 6, 2024.

Desperate to sell its oil, Iraq turns to Turkey amid standoff with Kurds

As Iraq looks to reroute oil to Turkey, Baghdad is also using the plan to push the Iraqi Kurds to greenlight exports through their territory.

Ali IHSAN OZTURK / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

No strangers to turmoil, Turkey-Iran to maintain ties under Mojtaba Khamenei

Even as war heighten tensions between Ankara and Tehran, the mix of rivalry and pragmatic cooperation that has long defined Turkey–Iran relations is likely to endure.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Latest News

Feature

Iranians crossing into Turkey haunted by regime crackdown more than war

Iranian nationals arrive in Turkey after passing through the Razi-Kapikoy border crossing in Van, northeastern Turkey, on March 3, 2026.

Ezgi Akin

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

Analysis

Oil-price hikes from Iran war threaten Turkey's rate cuts in inflation fight

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

AI middle east

Is the Middle East ready for its AI breakthrough?

Many Middle East governments see AI as an essential catalyst for growth and diversification, but the region’s aspirations have yet to materialize. This new Pro Trend Report takes a deep dive into the feasibility of regional AI strategies.

wimmers enter the water in the Bosphorus strait in Istanbul's Bebek district on July 29, 2022. - Istanbul, a historic megalopolis of 16 million people resting between two continents and two sea, does not bring to mind immediate images of a beach resort. But just like the locals of New York, Beirut and a handful of other global cities, Istanbulites can swim all summer long and return home on the metro with salt layering their skin, sand trapped under their sandals. (Photo by Ozan KOSE / AFP) (Photo by OZAN K

Culture

Tunis, Istanbul top Middle East city rankings for 'mindful travelers'

Nine cities from the broader Middle East and North Africa region, including four in Turkey, made it into a ranking of the world's top cities for “mindful travelers."

A reveller flashes the V-sign in front of a bonfire during a gathering of Turkish Kurds for Newroz (or Nowruz) celebrations marking the Persian New Year in Diyarbakir, southeastern Turkey, on March 21, 2023.

'Police beating' of 14-year-old Kurd highlights claims of impunity in Turkey

Kurdish teenager allegedly assaulted and humiliated by officers in Diyarbakir.

ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey’s ruling alliance welcomes Islamist parties with misogynist agendas

The New Welfare Party and Huda-Par back the People’s Alliance led by Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party.

An aerial picture shows Syrian refugees living in Turkey waiting to take a bus through the northern Bab al-Hawa border crossing, on February 17, 2023, as they return to Syria in the aftermath of a deadly earthquake. - Turkey this week allowed Syrians under its protection who hold ID cards from one of the quake-hit provinces to leave for between three and six months, a rule change designed to reunite families on both sides of the border hit by the February 6 disaster, which has killed more than 41,000 people

60,000 Syrians have left Turkey, Turkish defense chief says

Syrian refugees in Turkey remain a central theme ahead of the country's critical May 14 elections.

A supporter of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi stands in the back of a pickup truck bearing his portrait and loudspeakers, in the capital Cairo's Tahrir square on January 25, 2018, as the country marks the seventh anniversary of the 2011 uprising that ended the 30-year reign of former President Hosni Mubarak. / AFP PHOTO / MOHAMED EL-SHAHED (Photo credit should read MOHAMED EL-SHAHED/AFP via Getty Images)

Egypt's Sisi unlikely to reconcile with Erdogan before Turkey's election

The Turkish military presence in Libya remains the key snag in Ankara’s efforts to mend fences with Egypt.

President Biden delivers remarks at the Summit for Democracy in this undated photo.

Turkey left off guest list for Biden’s 2nd democracy summit

Turkey's exclusion from the Biden administration's second Summit for Democracy comes as the country gears up for historic presidential elections in May.

MARKKU ULANDER/Lehtikuva/AFP via Getty Images

Turkish parliamentary committee approves Finland's NATO bid

A Turkish parliamentary committee has unanimously approved Finland's NATO membership.

Leader of the Republican People's Party (CHP) Kemal Kilicdaroglu speaks during his party's group meeting at the Turkish Grand National Assembly in Ankara, Turkey on Jan. 10, 2023.

Meet Kemal Kilicdaroglu, Turkey’s long-derided opposition head who could dethrone Erdogan

The leader of the main opposition Republican People's Party, who will face off against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in presidential elections May 14, is a far more complex figure than meets the eye.

Germany's DW closure in Turkey sparks fears of pre-election media clampdown

Deutsche Welle, which produces news in Turkish, will close its office next week after the government refused it permission to operate.

ISTANBUL, TURKEY - DECEMBER 05: People wallk past a currency exchange shop on December 5, 2016 in Istanbul, Turkey. As the Turkish Lira plunged to record lows in past weeks, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a speech Saturday said his political enemies were trying to sabotage the economy and urged citizens to convert their foreign currency savings into lira or gold. Borsa Istanbul, Turkey's main stock exchange, became the first institution to act on the presidents call, converting all it's cash assets to li

Increased gold reserves help stabilize Turkey's currency ahead of May elections

The value of Turkey's gold reserves have reached an all-time high of $50.6 billion and account for almost 40% of the central bank's gross foreign assets.

Piero Cingari

Turkey's Republican People's Party (CHP) Chairman and presidential candidate Kemal Kilicdaroglu (C).

Turkey’s pro-Kurdish party won’t field challenger to Erdogan, boosting opposition’s chances

The pro-Kurdish HDP announced that it will not field a candidate in the May 14 presidential elections and will run under the banner of the Green Left Party to circumvent a potential closure and political ban that it faces.