Turkish-Kurdish conflict

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks to MPs at his party's group meeting in the Turkish parliament on Jan. 21, 2026 in Ankara, Turkey.

Analysis

How the Iran war is giving Turkey's Erdogan a big boost

Opinion polls show Turks turning to Erdogan as a steady hand during the war, even as the country's finances remain fragile.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Bibi Heybat mosque is seen in front of Bibi Heybat Oil Field, situated at the coast of the Caspian Sea outside Baku on March 19, 2019.

Analysis

How Azerbaijan benefits — and risks losing — from Iran war

Azerbaijan is cashing in on soaring oil prices and Israeli demand, but risks Iranian retaliation, pipeline attacks and regional blowback if the war escalates.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

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

Latest News

Analysis

Could Kurds be Trump's lever in Iran regime-change scenarios?

Protesters hold a banner reading "Come and weave resistance together" and "Women, life, freedom."

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Feature

After SDF-Damascus truce, is Kurdish haven still safe for Syria's Alawites?

Members of People's Defense Units (YPG) stand guard as Syrian government internal security personnel enter the northeastern city of Hasakeh, a Kurdish stronghold, on Feb. 2, 2026.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Analysis

Kurds, Damascus step back from brink as SDF signs fresh deal with Syrian government

Kurdish security forces patrol the street on Jan. 23, 2026 in Qamishli, Syria.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Interview

YPG spokesman: Syrian forces' strategy is to isolate Kurdish towns and cities

Siyamend Ali

Siyamend Ali

Siyamend Ali

YPG spokesman

TO GO WITH AFP STORY BY SERENE ASSIR A Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) fighters guards a post flying the PKK flag during the ongoing intensive security deployment against Islamic State (IS) militants in the town of Makhmur, southwest Arbil, the capital of the autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq, on August 21, 2014. Kurdish groups from Iraq and three neighbouring countries are putting aside old rivalries to battle jihadist militants, but there are cracks in this newly-forged unity and it may not last. A

Did Kurdish PKK call off truce with Turkey to make peace or war?

Ending the ceasefire that the group announced after the earthquakes reflects the reality that Erdogan will continue in power.

Turkey's newly appointed Foreign Affairs Minister Hakan Fidan delivers a speech.

Blinken calls Turkey’s FM Hakan Fidan, Sweden’s NATO bid tops agenda

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Turkey's new Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan also touched upon bilateral relations and defense cooperation.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (C) and members of his new cabinet pose for a photo during a visit to Anitkabir, the mausoleum of Turkish Republic's founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, before their first cabinet meeting in Ankara, on June 6, 2023.

Deciphering Turkey’s new cabinet: Real reform or window dressing?

President Erdogan's new Cabinet so far reflects a shift to his reformist days — whether that plays out as such remains to be seen.

Turkish intelligence chief Hakan Fidan (R) and Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar wait prior to a meeting with the Russian President at the Kremlin in Moscow on August 24, 2018. - Turkish Foreign Minister on August 24, 2018 warned that seeking a military solution in Syria's last rebel-held province of Idlib would lead to disaster, while Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov said that the situation was "multi-faceted" and called for separating out "the healthy opposition from terrorist structures." Idlib is one

Who is Hakan Fidan, Turkey’s new foreign minister with spy powers?

Fidan will come under spotlight after steadily keeping a low profile during his tenure as the nation’s youngest spymaster.

Supporters of the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party.

Turkey’s beleaguered Kurds weigh new strategies after Erdogan’s win

The key question following the vote is whether the alliance between the HDP and the main opposition Republican People’s Party and its Table of Six partners can endure.

A picture shows election flags displaying imprisoned Selahattin Demirtas.

Turkey’s jailed Kurdish leader quits active politics after Erdogan’s victory

Selahattin Demirtas' announcement comes amid heated public debate over whether Kemal Kilicdaroglu would resign after he was defeated by President Erdogan in Sunday’s runoff.

Flags fly over Taksim Square showing Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and CHP presidential candidate, Kemal Kilicdaroglu on May 13, 2023 in Istanbul, Turkey. On May 14th, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will face his biggest electoral test as the country goes to the polls in the country's general election. Erdogan has been in power for more than two decades -- first as prime minister, then as president -- but his popularity has recently taken a hit due to Turkey's ongoing economic crisis and his gover

How Erdogan’s reelection will shift Turkey's foreign policy goals

Erdogan’s desire to build a legacy as an above-party national leader requires him to sustain and nurture the notion of a “strong Turkey” in foreign policy.

ISTANBUL, TURKEY - MAY 25: People walk past an election campaign poster for Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on May 25, 2023 in Istanbul, Turkey. The country is holding its first presidential runoff election after neither candidate earned more than 50% of the vote in the May 14 election. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)

Erdogan vs. Kilicdaroglu: What to expect in Turkey's first ever election runoff

Though polls give a lead to the incumbent president, a victory by the main opposition leader in Sunday’s presidential runoff seems still possible depending on a combination of challenging factors.

Supporters draped in the flags of the AKP, the Turkish flag and the image of Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan.

Turkey Elections: Kurds, far-right rally behind Kilicdaroglu ahead of Sunday’s vote

Refuting speculation, Turkey’s largest Kurdish political movement announced it would continue to support the main opposition leader despite his alliance with the far right.

Karwan Gaznay

Iraqi Kurdish politician survives assassination attempt

Tensions have been high for months between the Kurdistan Democratic Party and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, though recent dialogue may have calmed the situation.

Iraq's Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein gives a joint press conference with his German counterpart at the foreign ministry headquarters in Baghdad on March 7, 2023. (Photo by Murtaja LATEEF / AFP) (Photo by MURTAJA LATEEF/AFP via Getty Images)

Iraqi FM expects continuity in ties with Turkey, no matter who wins election

Fuad Hussein says TotalEnergies deal “would change character of Iraqi economy,” discusses relations with the United States, Iran, Syria and Arab states.

Workers at the Northern Oil Company carry out maintenance work at the pumping station in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk.

Iraq asks Turkey to resume oil exports as firms in Kurdistan region scale back

Turkey has still yet to restart oil flows from northern Iraq following a controversial court ruling despite efforts by Iraqi and Kurdish authorities. The stoppage is threatening the Kurdistan Region’s oil sector.