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

Turkey

Turkey

March 21, 2026

Ankara 9:23 pm

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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 view of the oil refinery on March 17, 2026 in Erbil, Iraq.

Exclusive

Iraqi oil flows to Turkey after US pledges role in Baghdad-Kurds customs dispute

A US-brokered breakthrough between Baghdad and Erbil has restarted Iraqi oil exports through Turkey after a weeklong standoff.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Latest News

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

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

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

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

Analysis

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

Ali IHSAN OZTURK / AFP via Getty Images

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

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

Israel's Defense Minister Benny Gantz attends a laying wreath ceremony at Anitkabir.

Turkey, Israel agree to strengthen defense ties

Israeli defense chief stressed stability in the Eastern Mediterranean during his landmark visit to Ankara amid lingering tensions between Turkey and Greece.

A participant faces riot policemen wearing a rainbow flag during a pride march in Istanbul, on June 26, 2022.

Turkey’s LGBTQ community alarmed over Erdogan’s ‘family’ vision

Rights activists in Turkey fear a rise in homophobic discrimination and hate crimes as Erdogan vocally stigmatizes the LGBTQ community.

YASIN AKGUL/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey’s Central Bank raises inflation forecast yet again

Turkey's central bank governor has raised the inflation estimate for the fourth time in a year as prices hit a 24-year high.

Turkey media

Siege tightens around Turkey’s critical newsrooms ahead of election

Government opponents fear Ankara will use all of its means to stifle unfavorable news and public debate ahead of crucial elections next year.

YASIN AKGUL/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey detains head of medical association on terror charges

Sebnem Korur Fincanci was detained for allegedly disseminating "terrorist propaganda" a day after a political ally of the government demanded her Turkish citizenship be revoked and the Turkish Medical Association be closed down.

Burak Kara/Getty Images

Orthodox schism shakes Turkish Riviera

A major rift in Orthodox Christianity compounded by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has driven a wedge into a growing Orthodox community on Turkey’s Mediterranean coast.

Peoples' Democratic Party's Zuleyha Gulum holds a banner "Truths cannot be obscured."

Turkey ramps up pressure on Kurdish journalists with mass detentions

The detentions are part of a campaign against journalists working for outlets that report on rights abuses, particularly in the Kurdish-majority southeast.

This picture taken on March 24, 2019, shows a discarded Islamic State flag.

Syrian man sentenced in Turkey for burning two alive under Islamic State

A Turkish court has sentenced a Syrian man for ordering the burning executions of two Turkish nationals in 2016, but many aspects of the grisly murder remain in the dark.

ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey's infamous Diyarbakir prison empties for museum makeover

Diyarbakir prison, a symbol of torture and oppression for decades in Turkey, has finally closed to be made into a museum, but some activists see whitewashing on its bloodstained walls.

Leon Neal/Getty Images

Next British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's views on Middle East

The Conservative statesman has expressed fairly mainstream views on Israel, Iran and other regional issues.

Erdogan economy

Can Erdogan pull up his sagging support?

Unlike previous polls that suggest steady decrease for Erdogan and his ruling party, a recent poll shows the tide may have been turned.

Chris McGrath/Getty Images

Turkey’s Central Bank ducks soaring inflation to cut rates again

Despite the highest inflation in 24 years, Turkey’s Central Bank has made its third interest cut ahead of elections next June.