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

Turkey

Turkey

March 28, 2026

Ankara 3:39 am

9°C

A handing over of command ceremony at Union III Camp in the Green Zone of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, on May 22, 2025.

Turkey confirms Iraq troop withdrawal as NATO pulls back due to Iran war

The confirmation of the withdrawal came as part of NATO’s decision to withdraw its forces in its Iraq mission amid Iran war.

Two Typhoon Eurofighter jets of the Quick Reaction Alert (QRA) of the German air force (Luftwaffe) take off for training during a media day at the military Laage Air Base, northeastern Germany, on March 11, 2026.

Turkey, UK advance $11B Eurofighter jet deal with training agreement

Britain and Turkey signed a training and support agreement marking “the next phase” of Ankara’s entry into the Eurofighter program, building on a £8 billion jet deal signed last year.

Journalists gather outside the Ankara courthouse on March 10, 2020 behind a banner reading in Turkish "journalism is not crime," to protest over jailing of journalists, sparked by the recent arrest of OdaTV's news director and a journalist's report on the funeral of a Turkish intelligence officer apparently killed in Libya.

Journalist who investigated Erdogan’s son jailed on 'disinformation' charges in Turkey

Human rights organizations warn Ari’s detention signals a broader campaign against journalists probing government corruption and elite networks.

Latest News

US proposes Vance-Ghalibaf talks with Turkey as one intermediary: Source

Ghalibaf Fidan

Analysis

Iran war drives Turkey-Gulf defense alignment, but not alliance

United Arab Emirates army helicopters fly from the Burj al Arab hotel (R) toward Burj Khalifa, Dubai, Jan. 16, 2026.

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

Faruk Ugur waits for customers while selling hot wine at the entrance to his closed restaurant in the Kadikoy district on February 23, 2021 in Istanbul, Turkey.

Critics say Erdogan used pandemic to kill Turkey’s nightlife

Many out-of-work veterans of Turkey's once thriving entertainment world suspect the ruling party of using COVID-19 restrictions to enforce a more conservative lifestyle.

A woman receives a dose of Pfizer BioNTech vaccine against COVID-19 at the Ankara City Hospital, in Ankara, Turkey, on June 7, 2021.

Turkey gives record 1.24 million vaccine doses in one day

Long lines formed outside Turkish vaccination clinics this week after health officials ramped up the nation’s inoculation drive, administering a record 1.24 million vaccine doses Tuesday.

A Kurdish female peshmerga fighter carries her weapon while walking in the foothills of the Qandil Mountains located along the Iraq-Iran border, May 5, 2006.

Deadly attacks stoke KDP-PKK tensions in Iraqi Kurdistan

Turkish Kurdish militants entrenched in Iraqi Kurdistan face mounting calls to leave the region after the killing of six members of the Iraqi Kurdish armed forces.

The national flags of Azerbaijan (L) and Turkey, and portraits of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev (R) hang side-by-side on the mayoral building in the Kecioren district of Ankara on October 21, 2020.

Erdogan, Aliyev cement military and business ties during Karabakh 'victory lap'

Erdogan announced that Turkey would be opening a consulate in the disputed territory and that the two countries would co-produce military drones.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (L) and US President Joe Biden (R) attend a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the NATO summit at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) headquarters in Brussels on June 14, 2021.

Turkish lira dives after inconclusive Erdogan-Biden meeting

Propelled by optimism over a possible S-400 missile compromise, Turkey’s lira slid Tuesday after the first meeting between US President Joe Biden and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ended without clear progress.

US President Joe Biden (R) speaks with Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan prior to a plenary session of a NATO summit at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) headquarters in Brussels, on June 14, 2021.

Erdogan’s meeting with Biden more spin than substance

The two leaders' first meeting as heads of state led to detailed discussions, but there were no breakthroughs.

This photograph taken on May 14, 2014, shows a Gaza-Turkey solidarity flag projected on a wall of the Ankara Castle in Ankara, Turkey.

Turkey’s muddled approach to Palestine

Ankara sees a recently ratified security cooperation deal between Turkey and the Palestinian Authority as groundwork for a possible maritime boundary agreement between Turkey and Palestine. Experts see such prospects as far-fetched.

Turkish kids watch TV

Turkey’s religious agency plans to launch children's TV channel

Turkey’s Religious Affairs Directorate, which has long lamented the influence of foreign cartoons on children, now seeks to establish a kids channel.

TB2 drone

Will Washington buy Ankara’s ‘drone crescent’ against Russia?

Scrambling for a thaw with Washington, Ankara hopes to draw on the success of its military drones — battle-proven against Russian weaponry — to cast itself as a key partner in US efforts to contain Russia in eastern Europe and beyond.

logging

Massive Turkey-led logging in Iraqi Kurdistan causes outcry

Extensive logging led by Turkey in Iraqi Kurdistan has set off an outcry, fueling the already strong anger toward the Turkish military presence in northern Iraq.

Sacrificial cows lay on the ground at a livestock market, ahead of the annual Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha, Ankara, Aug. 8, 2019.

Rise in Turkish food prices sparks fears of shortages

Turkey, a major agricultural producer, might find itself grappling with water shortages and food insecurity in the next decade unless it takes action to address growing problems in its agricultural sector.

President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrives to give a press conference after a Cabinet meeting at the Presidential Complex in Ankara, Turkey, on Sept. 21, 2020.

At his weakest moment, Erdogan to meet Biden

The forthcoming Erdogan-Biden meeting on June 14 comes at a time when Erdogan is experiencing his weakest term in his very long reign.