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

Turkey

Turkey

March 17, 2026

Ankara 1:15 am

3°C

An Iraqi oil tanker waits at the Khawr Abd Allah canal leading up to Al-Faw port in southern Iraq, on June 6, 2024.

Desperate to sell its oil, Iraq turns to Turkey amid standoff with Kurds

As Iraq looks to reroute oil to Turkey, Baghdad is also using the plan to push the Iraqi Kurds to greenlight exports through their territory.

Ali IHSAN OZTURK / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

No strangers to turmoil, Turkey-Iran to maintain ties under Mojtaba Khamenei

Even as war heighten tensions between Ankara and Tehran, the mix of rivalry and pragmatic cooperation that has long defined Turkey–Iran relations is likely to endure.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Iranian nationals arrive in Turkey after passing through the Razi-Kapikoy border crossing in Van, northeastern Turkey, on March 3, 2026.

Feature

Iranians crossing into Turkey haunted by regime crackdown more than war

Many Iranians crossing into Turkey suggest the regime’s deadly crackdown on recent protests, not the bombardment, is the trauma they cannot shake.

Ezgi Akin

In Ankara, reporting on diplomacy, EU-Turkey ties, NATO

Latest News

Analysis

Oil-price hikes from Iran war threaten Turkey's rate cuts in inflation fight

Yasin AKGUL / AFP via Getty Images

Ezgi Akin

In Ankara, reporting on diplomacy, EU-Turkey ties, NATO

Analysis

Oil crisis stokes inflation risks for Mideast as Iran war exposes importers

Smoke and flames rise at the site of airstrikes on an oil depot in Tehran on March 7, 2026.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Culture

The weight of war: Erdal Duman’s sculptures probe politics of violence

Artist Erdal Duman's work titled "Whoever Owns the Tank Is Soleiman" takes a dig at power.

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

A Kurdish man wearing a mask flashes the "V" sign.

PKK claims to down 15 Turkish drones in Nowruz announcement

The announcement comes one day ahead of the Kurdish New Year, or Nowruz, which is celebrated by millions of Kurds worldwide, and less than two weeks before Turkey's local elections that are due to be held nationwide on March 31.

A photograph taken on Oct. 22, 2011, shows a Turkish military helicopter flying over a mountain in Yemisli, in the Hakkari province

PKK kills Turkish soldier in northern Iraq as Ankara threatens major offensive

The militant group killed one Turkish soldier and wounded four others in northern Iraq, as Turkey threatened a major offensive to "annihilate" the Kurdish militant group by summer.

This picture taken on Sept. 30, 2020, shows logos of social-networking websites displayed on a mobile phone's screen in Istanbul.

Turkey hands Meta $148K daily fine over antitrust violation

Turkey’s competition watchdog also imposed an interim measure to suspend data-sharing between Instagram and Threads.

Relatives mourn over the caskets of 11 people killed in Turkish air strikes during their funeral in al-Malikiyah (Derik) in Syria's northeastern Hasakah province, on November 21, 2022. - Turkey hit dozens of targets in northern Syria as well as northern Iraq overnight into Sunday, a week after a deadly attack in Istanbul which Ankara has blamed on the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). (Photo by Gihad DARWISH / AFP) (Photo by GIHAD DARWISH/AFP via Getty Images)

Baghdad's PKK ban marks win-win for Iraq, Turkey but warning to Iran

The move could ease Turkey's military operations in northern Iraq while at the same allowing Baghdad to extend its presence and control over its territory.

US Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Rey White

Turkey hopeful on $1.4 billion reimbursement from US for F-35 deals

Turkey can get its money back, Turkish defense officials say, as ties with Washington strengthen following Sweden’s admission to NATO and Ankara’s F-16 purchase.

High-level officials from Turkey and Iraq held a security summit in Baghdad, March 14, 2024.

Iraq bans PKK as security ties with Turkey gain momentum

The decision comes after the high-level talks between Turkish and Iraqi officials in Baghdad.

UK Turk

Turkey, UK to begin trade deal talks in June

The official talks, set to begin on June 10, were announced following a Thursday meeting between the countries’ trade ministers in London.

Turkey’s Defense Minister Yasar Guler, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Ibrahim Kalin, head of the Turkish National Intelligence Agency, met in Ankara on March 11, 2024.

Three top Turkey officials to visit Iraq as Erdogan threatens Kurdish militants

The officials’ visit signals a fresh drive to dial up pressure on the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, which Ankara accuses of collaborating with Kurdish militants.

Mother and son boarding to the plane before their Egypt flight.

Uproar in Turkey as mother, son flee to US after fatal hit-and-run

Turkey seeks the pair’s extradition from the United States amid public fury.

BULENT KILIC/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey doubles down on coal despite European efforts to decarbonize

Turkey has been importing around three quarters of its coal from Russia as prices have fallen since the Ukraine war began in Feb. 2022.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken takes part in a meeting with Turkey's foreign minister, Hakan Fidan, in Washington, DC, on March 8, 2024.

Analysis

New visits, full momentum: Can Turkey and US go beyond transactionalism?

US-Turkey ties are heading in a positive direction, but it’s too soon to be optimistic, according to one expert.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

ISTANBUL, TURKEY - MARCH 08: President of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks to the media during a joint press conference with President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky on March 08, 2024 in Istanbul, Turkey. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)

Turkey’s Erdogan hosts Zelenskyy, hopeful on Ukraine-Russia compromise

Zelenskyy’s visit to Turkey comes one week after that of Lavrov, and as Ankara is trying to find a compromise between Moscow and Kyiv on a Black Sea mechanism.