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Turkey

Turkey

March 17, 2026

Ankara 6:17 am

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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

An ambulance leaves from Santa Maria Church as anti-riot police officers block the street after an attack in Istanbul, Turkey, Jan. 28, 2024.

How and why ISIS-K has resurged in Turkey

The latest attack on an Istanbul church signals the militant group’s resurgence in Turkey.

China Railway Express Chang'an freight train arrives at the Ankara train station, Turkey, on November 6, 2019. The first freight train, "Trans-Caspian China Railway Express", departing from China and going to Europe by using Marmaray, was sent off at Ankara Station.

Can Turkey, Iraq pull off 'Dry Canal' project?

While experts believe the ‘Dry Canal’ project involving road and rail networks faces an uphill battle, the initiative seems to stand a better chance than its alternatives.

Participants wave flags during a demonstration organized by The Kurdish Democratic Society Center against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Sweden's NATO bid at Norra Bantorget square in Stockholm on January 21, 2023.

Sweden's Kurds pay price of NATO deal with Turkey

It's increasingly clear that Sweden's sizable Kurdish population was the loser in the wrangling between Ankara and Stockholm over the latter's bid to join the NATO alliance.

Norway's Minister of Defense Bjorn Arild Gram sits in the back of an F-16 aircraft at Bodo airport, Norway, on Jan. 3, 2024.

Turkey says talks with US on local production of new F-16 ongoing

Mutual quest for the swift delivery of the new F-16s increases the prospects of the Turkish co-production offer, an analyst believes.

Turkish Defense Minister Yaşar Güler and his Greek counterpart, Nikos Dendias, on the sidelines of a NATO summit in Brussels Feb. 15, 2024.

Turkey, Greece formally join German-led defense shield project

Turkey reportedly sought to join the initiative, announced by Berlin in 2022, earlier but didn’t receive an invitation.

Erdogan is met by Sisi in Cairo

Turkey’s Erdogan receives red-carpet reception in Egypt, calls Sisi 'brother'

Libya, the Gaza war and bilateral ties are set to top Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's meeting during the first such visit since 2012.

People take part in a protest against the arrest of nine journalists working for Kurdish media outlets including Mezopotamya news agency in Istanbul, on Oct. 31, 2022.

Kurdish journalists harassed, detained ahead of key municipal race in Turkey

The detentions come amid ongoing demonstrations across the majority-Kurdish southeast region in the run-up to the 25th anniversary of the arrest of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party leader Abdullah Ocalan.

YASIN AKGUL/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey landslide leaves nine gold mine workers trapped

As rescuers work to reach several people who have been trapped in the gold mine for more than six hours, observers are ringing alarm bells over the risk of contaminated soil entering the nearby Euphrates River.

UAE's President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan meet in Dubai on Feb. 13, 2024.

Turkey’s Erdogan in UAE, meets MBZ ahead of landmark Egypt visit

Erdogan’s UAE and historic Egypt trips come as Ankara seeks to strengthen its ties with regional countries amid ongoing Israel-Hamas war.

A file photo taken in November 2001 shows a US Air Force F-16 warplane ready to land at Incirlik Air Base, southern Turkey.

Turkey’s Erdogan welcomes ‘conclusion’ of F-16 sale from US

Experts said the clearing of the sale is a "breakthrough" for US-Turkey relations but warned of delivery bumps that could rise in the next phase.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, right, shakes hands with his Egyptian counterpart, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, as they are welcomed by Qatar's emir, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, during the opening ceremony of the World Cup in Doha, Qatar on November 20, 2022 [Handout/Press Office of the Presidency of Turkey

From East Med to Ethiopia, can Turkey's Erdogan, Egypt's Sisi form regional axis?

Following a thaw in relations and a drone sales package, Turkish-Egyptian defense cooperation and the Turkish president's upcoming visit to Egypt could generate new momentum in the region.

Abdikadir Mohamed Nour (L), the minister of defense of Somalia, signs a security pact with Turkiye’s Minister of Defense Yasar Guler, on Feb. 8, 2024.

Turkey, Somalia sign defense deal in wake of Ethiopia-Somaliland agreement

The deal, which includes cooperation against terrorism, comes as tensions in the Horn of Africa over a controversial deal between Ethiopia and the breakaway region of Somaliland continue to simmer.