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

Turkey

Turkey

April 1, 2026

Ankara 9:59 pm

14°C

Chris McGrath/Getty Images

Turkey in talks with Iran to clear 11 ships stuck in Hormuz: What to know

Turkey's transport minister says that 11 vessels await passage from Hormuz pending talks with Iran.

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.

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

Members of the Great Lakes anti-fascist organization (Antifa) fly flags during a protest against the Alt-right outside a hotel in Warren, Michigan, U.S., March 4, 2018. REUTERS/Stephanie Keith - RC1B5E31E310

Turkey looks to link Syrian Kurdish militia to ANTIFA following Trump tweet

Some foreign veterans of the People's Protection Units (YPG) disagree with the Turkish assertion that ANTIFA and the Kurdish group are connected.

An Islamic State flag flies over the custom office of Syria's Jarablus border gate as it is pictured from the Turkish town of Karkamis, in Gaziantep province, Turkey August 1, 2015. Karkamis is a Turkish town of 10,500 people that sits directly opposite the border post. Shut for more than a year, the military sealed the crossing with a breeze block wall a few months ago. Behind it, just inside Syria, the black flag of Islamic State flaps in the breeze. Karkamis lies on the northeastern edge of a rectangle o

Turkey deports 12 Islamic State-linked fighters to Finland

The move comes after European governments have largely declined to take back detained citizens with links to the terror group.

A Turkish Airlines Airbus A320-200 plane is seen on the tarmac of the city's new Istanbul Airport in Istanbul, Turkey, April 6, 2019. REUTERS/Umit Bektas - RC1E1602C690

Turkey’s megaprojects threaten ‘mega’ financial havoc

Turkey’s government might be forced to nationalize some megaproject investments, chief among them the new airport in Istanbul, which have hit dire straits under the combined impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and Turkey’s existing economic woes.

Reports: Children among the dead after Syrian rebels clash in Turkish-held Afrin

Clashes between Syrian rebel groups in the northern city of Afrin left at least two children dead Thursday.

Turkey's assault against Syrian Kurds leaves trail of misery and spin

Was a burn victim hit by white phosphorus during Turkey's invasion of Ras al-Ain in October? Whatever the reason, he and many others are still suffering.

Smoke rises from Mitiga Airport after being attacked in Tripoli, Libya February 28, 2020. REUTERS/Ahmed Elumami - RC2O9F9S4FIK

What does Libya’s ‘Syrianization’ scenario mean for key actors?

Turkey may have gotten kudos for tipping the balance in Libya, but Russian countermoves raise the prospect of Turkish collaboration with Russia in the North African country, which is not to the liking of countries that have been giving plaudits to Ankara.

Four Seasons Sultanahmet Hotel staff members practice the service rules as they check the readiness of the hotel to the Healthy Tourism Certificate Program aims to convince travellers despite the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Istanbul, Turkey, May 21, 2020. Picture taken May 21, 2020. REUTERS/Umit Bektas - RC2QTG93W1FZ

Turkey readies for 'new normal' after declaring success against coronavirus

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has announced that a raft of restrictions imposed to curb the outbreak will be lifted next week as the country’s infection and death rates fall sharply.

Abandoned military buildings are seen in the deserted Yassiada in Marmara sea off Istanbul, Turkey, May 14, 2015. Turkey's Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu inaugurated the "Democracy and Freedom Islands" complex in Yassiada, where the military tribunals sentenced then-prime minister Adnan Menderes along with two of his ministers to death after the May 27, 1960 coup. The complex is expected to be completed in a year and will include a democracy martyrs' monument, a democracy museum, a hotel, conference hall, c

Erdogan dedicates Turkish island project to hanged idol

Turkey’s president says the island of Yassiada may become a Turkish Camp David, while critics slam the destruction of the landscape and archaeological heritage.

A migrant carries breads he bought in a shop in Karaagac district near Turkey's Pazarkule border crossing with Greece's Kastanies, in Edirne, Turkey, March 10, 2020. REUTERS/Marko Djurica - RC21HF9CFTXY

Why is Erdogan afraid of free bread?

Turkey's main opposition party has successfully turned the pandemic into an opportunity by building a dynamic grassroots movement in the face of authoritarian rule.

Erdogan dashes hopes of Turkey-Israel reconciliation

The resumption of El Al cargo flights to Turkey does not mean that relations between Israel and Ankara have thawed.

Hairdresser Oguz Kutlu disinfects scissors as he gives hair treatment to his customer Pinar Ersin, both wearing protective masks, on the first day of the reopening of his hair salon which was closed since March 21 amid the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Istanbul, Turkey, May 11, 2020. REUTERS/Umit Bektas - RC2BMG9VSKGF

Turkey cautiously reopens after national Eid curfew

Mosques, restaurants and stores prepare to gradually reopen with new coronavirus precautions in Turkey after four-day nationwide curfew for the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr.

A Turkish F-16 fighter jet takes off from Incirlik airbase in the southern city of Adana, Turkey, July 27, 2015. To match Insight TURKEY-SECURITY/AIRFORCE REUTERS/Murad Sezer/File Photo - S1AEULZGSTAA

Turkey conducts rare strike in Iraq's Sulaimaniyah province against PKK

Most Turkey-PKK fighting takes place in other parts of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq where Turkey has military bases.