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

Turkey

Turkey

March 17, 2026

Ankara 5:53 pm

15°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

Smokes billows in Qamishli in northeastern Syria close to the Turkish border on Dec. 25, 2023.

Turkey speeds up attacks on Kurdish groups in Syria, Iraq

The latest escalation occurred after the killing of 12 Turkish soldiers in northern Iraq over the past week.

Turkey's Erdogan compares Netanyahu to Hitler, drawing Israel's rebuke

The Turkish president’s inflammatory comments drawing a parallel between Hitler to Netanyahu once again have ramped up tensions between Turkey and Israel.

Turkey's parliamentary committee approves Sweden’s NATO bid, paving way for full vote

After passing an initial hurdle, the Nordic nation’s accession to NATO will now be debated and voted on by the full Turkish Parliament.

Smoke plumes billow from a fire at a lumber warehouse in southern Khartoum amidst ongoing fighting on June 7, 2023. Eight weeks of fighting have pitted Sudan's army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan against his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo -- commonly known as Hemeti -- who commands the powerful paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). A number of broken ceasefires have offered brief lulls but no respite for residents of Khartoum, where witnesses again reported "the sound of heavy artillery fire" in the ca

2023 in review: From Sudan to Syria, here are Mideast's forgotten conflicts

More than 12,000 people were killed in the war in Sudan this year, while violence persisted in parts of Syria, Iraq and other countries across the Middle East and North Africa.

collage 2023

2023 in review: Al-Monitor's special coverage from across Middle East

Visitors inspect sniper rifles during the opening day of Egypt Defence Expo (EDEX-2023) at the Cairo International Exhibition Center, Dec. 4, 2023.

Is Turkey-Egypt rapprochement turning into a long-term defense partnership?

Rapidly improving defense cooperation between Cario and Ankara falls in line with Turkey's multidimensional strategic outlook, observes believe.

Can Turkey and Algeria be strategic partners despite differences in Africa?

Mutual interests are bringing Turkey and Algeria closer, even though Erdogan’s policies in Africa have often irritated Algiers.

Turkey’s parliament to resume debate on Sweden’s NATO bid

Shortly after the parliament’s Foreign Relations Committee set a date for its new meeting, the Turkish Defense Ministry announced that Turkey and the United States held high-level talks on defense cooperation.

Can Turkey's Erdogan help push for Palestinian Hamas-Fatah reconciliation?

Turkey is pursuing an initiative to gather senior members of Fatah and Hamas at a conference.

Turkey’s Central Bank delivers moderate rate hike

The bank said it has slowed the pace of monetary tightening, assessing that it is close to the level required to establish a course of disinflation.

Assyrian Christians from Iraq, Syria and Lebanon attend a Christmas mass at Saint Georges church in an eastern Beirut suburb on Dec. 25, 2014.

Assyrian Christmas message raises tensions in Turkey’s parliament

The tensions are a snippet of the larger conflict regarding citizens’ rights to speak their mother tongues in the public and official sphere in multiethnic Turkey.

Turkey's Erdogan wants 'simultaneous' progress on F-16s, Sweden’s NATO bid

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan will handle the two processes simultaneously.