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

Turkey

Turkey

April 1, 2026

Ankara 7:00 am

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Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks to MPs at his party's group meeting in the Turkish parliament on Jan. 21, 2026 in Ankara, Turkey.

Analysis

How the Iran war is giving Turkey's Erdogan a big boost

Opinion polls show Turks turning to Erdogan as a steady hand during the war, even as the country's finances remain fragile.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

German soldiers stand to attention in front of a German Patriot missile launcher at the Gazi barracks in Kahramanmaras, southern Turkey on March 25, 2014.

Turkey says NATO defenses intercepted fourth missile from Iran

Turkey said NATO air defenses neutralized a ballistic munition launched from Iran that entered its airspace, marking the fourth such interception since March.

Sedat Suna/Getty Images

Analysis

Energy storage keeps Turkey stable, but long war risks fragile economy

Turkey avoids an immediate energy crunch thanks to storage and diversified supply, but soaring prices and prolonged disruption threaten inflation.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Latest News

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

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

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

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.

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

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.

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

Ghalibaf Fidan

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

Four years on, former AKP insiders reflect on Turkey's failed coup

Former members and supporters of Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party discuss the four-year anniversary of the 2016 failed coup and say that the rule of law and democratic principles have been weakened in the country.

Turkish workers of former state-owned tobacco and alcohol monopoly TEKEL shout slogans in protest against layoffs and the government�s labor policy on the 65th day of their strike in Ankara on February 18, 2010. Workers are demonstrating for the rights of some 10,000 workers who were made redundant by the privatization of the state tobacco monopoly TEKEL in 2008. AFP PHOTO/ADEM ALTAN (Photo credit should read ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Is it 12% or 52%? Turks disagree on jobless rate

Turkey’s unemployment problem is unlikely to scale down to pre-pandemic levels, bound to remain the main pressure factor on the country’s economy and politics.

TOPSHOT - Supporters of Turkey's main pro-Kurdish People's Democratic Party (HDP) party cheer as they celebrate the Kurdish New Year during a campaign rally in Istanbul on March 24, 2019 ahead of the March 31 local elections. - Under daily attack from Turkish President and with dozens of its mayors in jail, HDP is fighting an uphill battle for this month's local elections and hopes to mobilise its supporters in the vote to capture municipal mayor posts and local councils. (Photo by Yasin AKGUL / AFP)

Another pro-Kurdish mayor replaced as detentions continue in southeast Turkey

Police detained more than 50 people on alleged terror links in southeast Turkey a day after yet another mayor with the People's Democratic Party was replaced with a state-appointed trustee.

Members of the "Tripoli Brigade", a militia loyal to the UN-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA), sit in the back of a pickup truck as they parade through the Martyrs' Square at the centre of the GNA-held Libyan capital Tripoli on July 10, 2020. (Photo by Mahmud TURKIA / AFP) (Photo by MAHMUD TURKIA/AFP via Getty Images)

Intel: Eastern Libya invites Egypt to intervene against Turkey-backed offensive

Eastern Libya’s parliament passed a motion approving a possible military intervention by neighboring Egypt to stop an offensive by Libya’s Tripoli-based government in the west.

An aerial picture shows Syrians gathering at the site of an improvised explosive device which hit a joint Turkish-Russian patrol on the strategic M4 highway, near the Syrian town of Ariha in the rebel-held northwestern Idlib province, on July 14, 2020. - Three Russian and several Turkish soldiers were wounded in Syria's restive Idlib province when a joint military patrol was hit by an improvised explosive device, Russia's defence ministry said. (Photo by Omar HAJ KADOUR / AFP) / The erroneous photographer's

Roadside bomb hits Russian-Turkish patrol on key Syrian highway

The Russian military said Tuesday that three Russian troops and an unspecified number of Turkish soldiers were injured in the attack.

Turkish women display photographs of slain student, Özgecan Aslan, who was killed while resiting an attempted rape, and other victims of violence against women during a demonstration in Ankara on June 12, 2015. Three men went on trial in Turkey over the murder and attempted rape of a 20-year-old female student, in a case that sparked an outpouring of anger over the level of violence against women in the country. Ozgecan Aslan was murdered in the southern region of Mersin in February while returning home f

Why women’s shelters in Turkey no longer provide safety

The high-profile domestic abuse case of a popular actor shows violence against women is accepted, and even defended when it comes to powerful men.

A man flashes the V for Victory hand sign and waves a flag outside the Hagia Sophia museum in Istanbul on July 10, 2020 as people gather to celebrate after a top Turkish court revoked the sixth-century Hagia Sophia's status as a museum, clearing the way for it to be turned back into a mosque. - The Council of State, the country's highest administrative court which on July 2 debated a case brought by a Turkish NGO, cancelled a 1934 cabinet decision and ruled the UNESCO World Heritage site would be reopened t

Erdogan plays out Islamic 'Reconquista' with Hagia Sophia as backdrop

The reconversion of Hagia Sophia into a mosque is a power move by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that betrays not only domestic but regional and even global ambitions.

European Union stiffens tone against Turkey, but calls for dialogue

European diplomats consider the decision of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on the Hagia Sophia to be a provocation aimed at escalating tensions between Ankara and Brussels.

BERLIN, GERMANY - NOVEMBER 19: Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, President of Egypt, arrives for the Compact with Africa summit at the Chancellery on November 19, 2019 in Berlin, Germany. The summit, hosted by the German government, brings together leaders from 12 African nations and seeks to further the groundwork for increased private investment in those countries. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

Cairo cozies up to Baghdad, condemns Turkish attacks in Iraq

Egypt's efforts to sideline Turkey in Iraq have expanded as Cairo cements economic and military ties with Baghdad.

Prime Minister of Libya's UN-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) Fayez al-Sarraj (R) meets with Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu at the GNA's presidential headquarters in the capital Tripoli on June 17, 2020. (Photo by - / AFP) (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)

Is proxy war turning to conventional confrontation in Libya?

Albeit late, Turkey seems to have finally understood the importance of diplomacy in Libya.

It's not safe to insult Erdogan, even from Lebanon

Ankara has successfully pressured Beirut into prosecuting a Lebanese talk show host for criticizing Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in his own country.

Turkish border province has created the country's largest potter's field to bury refugees

A string of deadly incidents involving migrants has shaken Turkey’s eastern province of Van, which borders Iran and lies on a major route of human trafficking to Europe.