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Turkey

Turkey

May 11, 2026

Ankara 6:26 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

Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan addresses his supporters during an election rally of his ruling AK Party in Elazig March 6, 2014. Turkey will hold municipal elections on March 30. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS) - RTR3G491

AKP-Gulen strife worsens ahead of March 30 elections

While the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) may fear losing votes in upcoming local elections, the government can retaliate with its own legal campaign against the Gulen movement.

Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan and President of Iraqi Kurdistan Masoud Barzani (R) attend a ceremony with Erdogan's wife Emine Erdogan in Diyarbakir November 16, 2013. The president of Iraqi Kurdistan called on Turkey's Kurds to back a flagging peace process with Ankara on Saturday, making his first visit to southeastern Turkey in two decades in a show of support for Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan. Barzani's trip to Diyarbakir, the main city in Turkey's Kurdish-dominated southeast, comes as Ankara fi

Iraqi Kurds fear fallout from Erdogan-Gulen conflict

Some Iraqi Kurds are worried that the potential fall of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan might result in a reversal of good relations between Erbil and Ankara.

Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan addresses the crowd during an opening ceremony of a new metro line in Ankara March 13, 2014. A defiant Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, already battling a damaging corruption scandal weeks ahead of elections, cast the latest unrest as part of a plot against the state. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS TRANSPORT CIVIL UNREST) - RTR3GWD4

Will Erdogan apologize to Turkey's Shiites?

Turkey’s high political tensions finally engulfed the Turkish Shiites (Jaafaris) who are furious with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan for calling Shiites “liars, slanderers and hate mongers.”

Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu (R) and Secretary-General of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Dmitry Mezentsev show signed documents granting Turkey a partner status in SCO, in Almaty April 26, 2013. REUTERS/Shamil Zhumatov (KAZAKHSTAN - Tags: POLITICS BUSINESS) - RTXZ0S8

Erdogan turns East

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has tired of joining Europe, and aspires to "Putinize" Turkey not only by veering toward Muslim Asia but also by joining the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (R) shakes hands with Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov before their meeting at Winfield House, the home of the U.S. ambassador in London March 14, 2014. The United States and Russia will find it formidably difficult to make progress on Ukraine at talks in London today, British Foreign Minister William Hague said on Friday. REUTERS/Brendan Smialowski/pool (BRITAIN - Tags: POLITICS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTR3H3AB

Al-Monitor Congress Pulse expands Syria, Russia-Ukraine-Mideast coverage

Congress Pulse and "Trendlines" delve into the implications of Ukraine for US policy in the Middle East.

Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) meets with Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in Moscow's Kremlin January 16, 2014. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin (RUSSIA - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX17GFB

Iran weighs 'active neutrality' in Ukraine

Iran’s strategic priorities remain a comprehensive nuclear agreement and a political solution in Syria.

A statue of modern Turkey's founder Ataturk and a mosque in the background are pictured in a square where Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan (not pictured) is to attend an election rally of his of ruling AK Party (AKP) in Kirikkale, central Turkey March 4, 2014. Turkey will hold municipal election on March 30. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTR3G17X

The fading Turkish model for the Arab world

Allegations of corruption against the government of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is undermining what little support may still remain across the Middle East.

Smoke rises at the Karaj al-Hajez crossing, a passageway separating Aleppo's Bustan al-Qasr, which is under the rebels' control and Al-Masharqa neighbourhood, an area controlled by the regime March 13, 2014. REUTERS/Sultan Ketaz (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT) - RTR3GZNW

Pro-regime Sunni fighters in Aleppo defy sectarian narrative

Pro-regime militias such as the Al-Quds and Baath Brigades are at the forefront of the battle against rebels in Aleppo, and they're mostly Sunni.

A Palestinian girl walks past a monument of a homemade M75 rocket in the middle of a square in Gaza City March 10, 2014. Hamas fired M75 rockets at Tel Aviv and Jerusalem in the 2012 eight-day fighting with Israel. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTR3GEHZ

Hamas trapped between Israel, Islamic Jihad

While committed to keeping a quiet border with Israel, Hamas leaders fear the alliance between Iran and Islamic Jihad, and prefer Israel’s wrath to Iran’s anger.

A member of the Asayish carries his weapon as he secures the area hit by a suicide bombing on Saturday at the Kurdish Security Forces Center (Asayish) at the Suez Canal neighbourhood in Qamishli November 25, 2013. The al-Qaeda linked Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant have claimed responsibility for the bombing which killed three people, including two members of the Asayish police force, and nine others wounded, activists said. Picture taken November 25, 2013. REUTERS/Rodi Said (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIV

ISIS suicide attacks target Syrian Kurdish capital

The Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) is increasing its terror campaign against Kurds in northern Syria.

Istanbul's financial district, Levent district, which comprises of leading Turkish companies' headquarters and popular shopping malls, is seen from the observation deck of Sapphire Tower in Istanbul January 30, 2012. The 261 metres high (285.4 yards) Sapphire Tower of Istanbul is the country's highest building. Picture was taken through glass. REUTERS/Murad Sezer (TURKEY - Tags: CITYSPACE BUSINESS) - RTR2X2RP

The AKP’s failed urban strategy

The Justice and Development Party’s municipal strategy emphasizing large-scale construction projects and urban transformation may be clashing with its focus on conservative values.

Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan steps off from his plane as he arrives in Elazig for an election rally of his ruling AK Party March 6, 2014. Turkey will hold municipal elections on March 30. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS) - RTR3G4AH

Erdogan's silence shows absence of moral compass

Why has Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan not yet expressed contrition or condolence for the death of Berkin Elvan?