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Turkey

Turkey

May 12, 2026

Ankara 10:59 am

21°C

Turkish Red Crescent's cars and trucks cross the Turkish border as they leave the Syrian city of Tel Abyad on Oct. 19, 2019, in Akcakale, Turkey.

Turkey's border reopening unlocks new sphere of influence in Syria

Turkey reopened the Akcakale-Tell Abyad crossing on Monday, ending an 11-year closure along the Syria border.

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.

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

Black Palestinians shrug off racism

Racist taunts toward Gaza’s African minority are not uncommon, despite centurieslong African migration to Palestine.

A flame rises from a pipeline at Tawke oil field near Dahuk, 400 km (245 miles) north of Baghdad May 9, 2009. Iraq's largely autonomous Kurdish region said on Friday it would start exporting oil next month, but the Oil Ministry in Baghdad cast doubt on the plan, denying it had given them permission to use national pipelines. Picture taken May 9, 2009. REUTERS/Azad Lashkari (IRAQ ENERGY POLITICS) - RTXFDTF

How independent is the Iraqi-Kurdish pipeline to Turkey?

Turkey can be instrumental in brokering a grand bargain on oil policy that affirms Iraqi sovereignty while assuring the Kurdistan Region of Iraq’s contribution to export growth.

How did Turkish media 'lynch' Kurdish singer?

The late Kurdish singer Ahmet Kaya was awarded the Presidential Medal of Honor after his life was ruined by Turkey’s “deep state” and mainstream media 14 years ago.

A general view of Dubai's cityscape September 25, 2013. A stampede by competing apartment buyers in Dubai this week may have obscured signs that Dubai's latest real estate boom is more restrained than the last one, which pushed the government close to default. REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah (UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - Tags: REAL ESTATE BUSINESS CITYSCAPE) - RTX145A9

The Al-Monitor Debate on Gulf Cities

The Wall Street Journal reports on the Al-Monitor debate on Gulf cities; former Israeli, Palestinian negotiators differ on whether Palestinians should recognize Israel as a Jewish state; hope for Syrian bishops' release; a new Al-Monitor design.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu (R) helps Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif to stand during a news conference in Ankara November 1, 2013. Turkey and Iran said on Friday they had common concerns about the increasingly sectarian nature of Syria's civil war, signalling a thaw in a key Middle Eastern relationship strained by stark differences over the conflict. Davutoglu expressed his appreciation to Zarif at the start of the news conference for travelling to Turkey despite suffering from b

Turkey-Iran Talks Can Begin To Defuse Syrian Tragedy

Discussions between the foreign ministers of Turkey and Iran reflect a serious departure from the polarization; especially on Syria & between the two regional powers.

AKP Trips on Islamic Tweets

Religious rhetoric by Justice and Development Party elites over marginal or irrelevant issues often seem unnecessary and divisive.

Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) fighters stand in formation in northern Iraq May 14, 2013. The first group of Kurdish militants to withdraw from Turkey under a peace process entered northern Iraq on Tuesday, and were greeted by comrades from the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), in a symbolic step towards ending a three-decades-old insurgency. The 13 men and women, carrying guns and with rucksacks on their backs, arrived in the area of Heror, near Metina mountain on the Turkish-Iraqi border, a Reuters witness sa

Turkey’s Militant Left Treads On 'New' Roads

With its roots in armed rebellion against the state, the Turkish and Kurdish militant left looks for ways of waging political battles under a new banner.

Veiled MPs Set Milestone in Turkey

The end of headscarf restrictions in Turkey will deprive the Justice and Development Party of the “victimhood” narrative and further expose the party’s authoritarian leanings.

Turkey's ruling Ak Party (AKP) lawmakers Nurcan Dalbudak (C) and Sevde Beyazit Kacar (R) attend the general assembly wearing their head scarves at the Turkish Parliament in Ankara October 31, 2013. Four female lawmakers from Turkey's Islamist-rooted ruling party wore their Islamic head scarves in parliament on Thursday in a challenge to the country's secular tradition. The last time a lawmaker attempted to wear the head scarf in parliament in 1999 she was expelled from the assembly. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TUR

Turkey Crosses Threshold On Islamic Headscarves

Turkey is breathing a sigh of relief after four female AKP deputies wearing headscarves to the parliament's general assembly caused only minor grumbling from the staunchly Kemalist opposition.

Al-Moussawi Says Iraq Can Be'Bridge' to Syria Solution

In an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor, Ali Al-Moussawi, top media adviser to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki, discusses the Geneva II Syria conference and Iraqi-Turkish relations.

Mustafa Sarigul, one of the two candidates for the leadership of the Turkey's main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) waves to his supporters at the beginning of his party's 13th extraordinary congress gathered in Ankara, January 29, 2005, where the new leader of the party will be elected. Deniz Baykal, the CHP's leader, is being challenged by Mustafa Sarigul, mayor of a district of Istanbul. A total of 1,253 delegates will cast their votes to elect the new leader. REUTERS/Umit Bektas UB/THI - RTR1

AK Party’s Sovereignty Over Istanbul Threatened

Polls show current mayor of Istanbul Sisli district Mustafa Sarigul is likely to win local elecations as main opposition CHP candidate if he chooses to run in 2014.

Turkey's ruling AK Party (AKP) lawmaker Sevde Beyazit Kacar arrives to the general assembly wearing her headscarf at the Turkish Parliament in Ankara October 31, 2013. Four female lawmakers from Turkey's Islamist-rooted ruling party wore their Islamic head scarves in parliament on Thursday in a challenge to the country's secular tradition. Four female lawmakers, Nurcan Dalbudak, Sevde Beyazit Kacar, Gulay Samanci and Gonul Bekin Sahkulubey, from Turkey's Islamist-rooted ruling party AKP wore their Islamic h

Headscarf Returns to Turkish Parliament

Four female deputies from Turkey's Justice and Development Party went on the hajj and are now making history by returning to parliament wearing headscarves.