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Turkey

Turkey

May 11, 2026

Ankara 5:17 am

14°C

ISTANBUL, TURKEY - MAY 06: A man poses for a photograph in front of the newly unveiled, Turkish made intercontinental ballistic missile Yildirimhan at the SAHA International Defence and Aerospace Expo on May 06, 2026 in Istanbul, Turkey. The International Defence and Aerospace Exhibition, showcased Turkish and foreign companies new products and technology. The expo was dominated by UAV products as modern warfare increasingly shifts to drone and unmanned technologies. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)

Analysis

From drones to deterrence: Turkey's ICBM missile signals bigger ambitions

Turkey’s planned test of a 6,000-kilometer missile could boost Ankara’s defense industry prestige, strengthen its deterrence messaging and feed a powerful domestic narrative of technological self-reliance, but it also raises questions about cost, timing and NATO protection.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

MURAT KOCABAS/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images

Culture

How ‘dog mom’ vacuum cleaner ad sparked culture war in Turkey

A Mother’s Day advertisement featuring a “dog mom” triggered a backlash from conservative media, government officials and regulators, turning a soft consumer campaign into a flashpoint over motherhood, declining birth rates, stray dogs and even antisemitism.

Latest News

Turkey, Japan launch defense industry partnership with eye on drones

People look at a drone on display at the Baykar exhibit at the SAHA International Defence and Aerospace Expo on May 06, 2026 in Istanbul, Turkey.

Saudi FM in Turkey as Ankara, Riyadh step up coordination amid Iran war

Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan in Ankara, May 6, 2026.

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

Supporters of Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan light flares during an election rally in Istanbul March 23, 2014. Erdogan, rallying hundreds of thousands of cheering supporters in Istanbul, said on Sunday that political enemies accusing him of corruption would be crushed by their own immorality. REUTERS/Murad Sezer (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS) - RTR3I986

Turkey shoots down Syrian plane as elections heat up

Turkey's political opposition warns Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan that "a thief cannot be a hero."

Fatwa emerges in Turkish corruption allegations

What is the role of political Islam in the allegations of corruption against the government of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan?

Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu (R) meets with Ukraine's interim President Oleksander Turchinov in Kiev March 1, 2014. REUTERS/Anastasia Sirotkina/Pool (UKRAINE - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3FUS8

Turkey faces 'geography’s revenge' in Crimea

Turkey’s strategic environment has become even more complicated following the Russian annexation of Crimea.

The war on Twitter, the blowback from Ukraine

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan follows through on his threat to shut down Twitter, as Saudi Arabia and Qatar also crack down on social media; US-Russia collaboration on Syria and Iran is so far holding on, despite tensions over Ukraine.

Erdogan’s great patriotic war

A recent video produced by the Justice and Development Party reveals an intense nationalistic vibe.

An illustration picture shows the log-on icon for the Website Twitter on an Ipad in Bordeaux, Southwestern France, January 30, 2013. REUTERS/Regis Duvignau (FRANCE - Tags: SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY BUSINESS) - RTR3D6NN

Saudi Arabia cracks down on Twitter

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has turned its attention to political dissent on Twitter.

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov speaks during a joint news conference with Iraq's Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari in Baghdad February 20, 2014. REUTERS/Thaier al-Sudani (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX196LB

Look for more assertive Russia in Middle East

Unless there is a de-escalation of the crisis over Crimea, the Obama administration could expect to deal with a Russian president more willing to challenge US interests in the Middle East.

People attend a rally called "We are together" to support the annexation of Ukraine's Crimea to Russia in Red Square in central Moscow, March 18, 2014. Russian President Vladimir Putin, defying Ukrainian protests and Western sanctions, signed a treaty on Tuesday making Crimea part of Russia but said he did not plan to seize any other regions of Ukraine. The flags display portraits of Russia's President Vladimir Putin and read "We are together!" REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov (RUSSIA - Tags: POLITICS TPX IMAGES OF T

US-Russia confrontation could drift to Mideast

The question is whether Iran, Egypt, or Saudi Arabia, in particular, will change their policies in the context of the US-Russia standoff.

Gul rebuts Erdogan’s international conspiracy claims

Turkish President Abdullah Gul supports an open and transparent investigation into allegations of corruption, saying, “There must be no suspicions left with regard to corruption.”

An Israeli army officer speaks to a soldier who was wounded during an explosion as he is evacuated to hospital, in the northern city of Haifa March 18, 2014. A roadside bomb wounded four Israeli soldiers patrolling the occupied Golan Heights on Tuesday, and Israel retaliated with artillery fire on Syrian army positions, the army said. It was not clear who had planted the bomb in an area where the Syrian military, Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas and Syrian rebels fighting President Bashar al-Assad all have a p

Israel sets new red lines with Syria

The Israeli government prefers that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces keep the Golan quiet, while making clear it will not tolerate any game-changing weapons transfers to Hezbollah.

Mustafa Asaba, a regional leader of Crimean Tatars, sits in the living room of a friend's home in Belogorsk near the Crimean capital of Simferopol March 17, 2014. Among the voices drowned out by victory celebrations across Crimea as it voted to leave Ukraine and join Russia were those of the Tatars, a minority group for whom the prospect of a return to Moscow rule brings fear and uncertainty. Picture taken March 17, 2014. REUTERS/Thomas Peter (UKRAINE - Tags: POLITICS SOCIETY) - RTR3HIWN

Turkey also a loser in Crimea

No matter how hard Turkey tries to be the guardian of Crimean Tatars, there isn’t much it can do after the Crimean vote to join Russia.

A piece of wreckage from a vehicle is seen at the site of Sunday's explosion in Nabi Osmane in the Bekaa Valley March 17, 2014. At least three people were killed when a suicide car bomber struck a Hezbollah stronghold in Lebanon's Bekaa Valley on Sunday in an apparent response to the fall of a rebel-held town to government forces across the border in Syria. A security source said two of the dead from the blast in Nabi Osmane were members of the Lebanese Shi'ite Muslim militant group Hezbollah whose fighters

What does the fall of Yabrud mean for Lebanon?

After the Syrian regime regained control of the rebel-held town of Yabrud this past weekend, some in Lebanon fear that the influx of extremist militants means more terrorist attacks inside the country.