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

Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Yazidi activist Nadia Murad gestures while talking to people during her visit to Sinjar, Iraq December 14, 2018. REUTERS/Ari Jalal - RC19D80529C0

Sinjar road reconnects estranged Yazidis and Kurds with Baghdad

The opening of a strategic road in Iraq's Kurdistan Region — closed since the Kurds' ill-fated independence referendum in September 2017 — could be a prelude to a reset in ties between Erbil and Baghdad.

Syrian people look on behind an olive tree branch as they arrive at a check point in the village of Anab ahead of crossing to the Turkish-backed Syrian rebels side on March 17, 2018, as civilians flee the city of Afrin in northern Syria.
More than 200,000 civilians have fled the city of Afrin in northern Syria in less than three days to escape a Turkish-led military offensive against a Kurdish militia, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said. / AFP PHOTO / BULENT KILIC (Photo credit should read

Turkey's 'Olive Branch' takes root in Syrian olive business

Kurdish olive growers in Afrin, Syria, complain bitterly that Turkish authorities who control the area aren't doing anything to stop massive exploitation and armed extortion that is costing the local oil economy $100 million.

A Turkish military tank is seen near Mount Barsaya, northeast of Afrin, Syria January 23, 2018. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi - RC17EC8A27B0

Erdogan says Turkish troops to march into northeast Syria

Some experts think Erdogan's threat to send troops into northeast Syria is a trial balloon that has more to do with Turkey's March 31 local elections than anything else, but others take his statements more seriously.

Kurdish demonstrators hold flags during a protest demanding the release of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Ocalan, in Sulaimaniyah, Iraq February 16, 2018. REUTERS/Ako Rasheed - RC1EA9AA5C90

Iraqi Kurdistan bans pro-PKK party amid Turkish pressure

Turkey exerted its political and economic pressure on Iraq’s Kurdistan Regional Government to close the headquarters of political parties that share the ideology of the Kurdistan Workers Party.

Businesspeople intervene in bitter ties between Turkey and Iraqi Kurdistan

Turkish businesspeople have launched a campaign to restore ties between Turkey and the Kurdistan Regional Government, which were hit hard last year after Kurdistan's independence referendum.

A view shows the courtroom of the European Court of Human Rights ahead of the start of a hearing regarding the case of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny (not pictured) against Russia at the court in Strasbourg, France, January 24, 2018. REUTERS/Vincent Kessler - RC14D3105C40

Have relations between Turkey and Europe reached a turning point?

The decision by the European Court of Human Rights on a jailed Kurdish leader might be marking a turning point in ties between Turkey and the European Union.

Erdogan vows to crush US allies in Syria

The Turkish president weighs military options to defeat what he calls a “terror outfit” in Syria.

Supporters of the Pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) gather during a rally in Istanbul, Turkey September 2, 2018. REUTERS/Umit Bektas - RC19F7CAEBF0

Turkey’s pro-Kurdish opposition struggles to be heard

Two years after its leader was jailed, the Peoples' Democratic Party is still in parliament, but continues to face a crackdown that a European Parliament report included as a reason to halt EU membership talks with Turkey.

A Turkish flag flutters on a military vehicle on the border of Manbij city, Syria November 1, 2018. REUTERS/Rodi Said - RC1DD5250CE0

Turkey's trigger finger grows itchy over US-Kurd relations

Turkey is probing ways to penetrate Kurd-controlled areas east of the Euphrates River, but the United States doesn’t seem ready to give up its relationship with the Kurdish People's Protection Units.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and French President Emmanuel Macron hold hands at a news conference after a Syria summit, in Istanbul, Turkey October 27, 2018. REUTERS/Murad Sezer - RC16134E6CB0

Putin pivots to Europe for next play on Syria

Russian president intensifies diplomatic push; Erdogan goes "big" to leverage the Khashoggi murder with the Trump administration; Oman emerges as Israeli-Palestinian broker.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan attend a news conference after a Syria summit, in Istanbul, Turkey October 27, 2018. Cem Oksuz/Pool via REUTERS - RC1C2A6030C0

Erdogan plays big: A grand bargain in Syria with Trump and Putin?

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan plays a big gambit with American and Russian counterparts, but can he win?

Intel: Why Washington is putting a bounty on Kurdish insurgents