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

4 factors affecting Turkey's new operation in Syria

As Turkey’s offensive against Kurdish forces in Syria nears the end of its first week, circumstances affecting the scope, progress and duration of the operation are complicated and full of risks.

Turkish army tanks and armoured personnel carriers (APC) are seen near the Turkish-Syrian border in Hatay province, Turkey January 23, 2018. REUTERS/Umit Bektas - RC1FA0C88540

Russia’s role in Turkish incursion into Syria is tricky

Turkey’s ironically named Operation Olive Branch, its latest quest to crush the Kurds on its border, will likely affect Moscow’s carefully engineered Syrian peace process.

Erdogan scores big with Afrin operation, but problems remain

Military experts say taking Afrin will be a tactical success for Ankara, but Turkey’s Kurdish concerns in Syria appear to be far from over.

Iran 'concerned' by Turkish assault on northern Syria

While Iran has expressed its concerns that Turkey’s operations against Kurds in northern Syria will further inflame the war, it didn't outright condemn the offensive.

Ankara might be awaiting Russian OK for Afrin operation

Although Turkey keeps signaling an imminent operation against Afrin in northern Syria, it appears Moscow hasn’t yet given the green light.

Iconic lawmaker's ouster a gloomy deja vu for Turkey

The crackdown on the Kurdish political movement in Turkey has caught up with iconic politician Leyla Zana, who lost her parliamentary seat for the second time in 25 years.

A Turkish military convoy arrives at an army base in the border town of Reyhanli near the Turkish-Syrian border in Hatay province, Turkey January 17, 2018. REUTERS/Osman Orsal - RC12B0BC2360

Will Erdogan defy Russia, US over Afrin?

Turkey’s plan to launch an operation to take Syria's Afrin faces major difficulties, yet if Erdogan succeeds even partially it will boost his image at home.

Struggle with Sochi guest list reflects animosities over Syria

As Russia seeks to overcome Turkey’s objections to Kurdish participation in the planned Sochi conference, Moscow welcomed Kurdish commanders to assure them Kurds are not being excluded.

FILE PHOTO: Osman Baydemir, spokesman for the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), addresses members of parliament from his party during a meeting at the Turkish parliament in Ankara, Turkey April 18, 2017. Picture taken April 18, 2017. REUTERS/Umit Bektas/File Photo - RC1730D15E80

How ‘Kurdistan’ became illegal in Turkey, again

The Turkey of 2013 and the Turkey of 2017 are very different places, which is why uttering the word “Kurdistan” is once again a punishable offense in the parliament.

Head of Turkey's intelligence service, Hakan Fidan arrives for a press conference on October 10, 2016 in Istanbul.
Putin visits Turkey on October 10 for talks with counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, pushing forward ambitious joint energy projects as the two sides try to overcome a crisis in ties. / AFP / OZAN KOSE (Photo credit should read OZAN KOSE/AFP/Getty Images)

Turkish government mum about abducted intelligence personnel

Several senior Turkish intelligence officials have been in PKK hands for more than three months, but the government is refusing to share what it knows about them with the parliament.

A member of the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) mans a weapon mounted on a pick-up truck as others talk to each others along a street in the west of the city of Ras al-Ain, after capturing it from Islamist rebels November 5, 2013. Redur Xelil, spokesman for the armed wing of the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD), said Kurdish militias had seized the city of Ras al-Ain and all its surrounding villages. Syrian Kurdish fighters have captured more territory from Islamist rebels in northeastern

Turkey’s problem with Syrian Kurds far from over

Ankara has accepted the Russian proposal to have Kurdish participation in Syrian national reconciliation while excluding the PYD, but the latter will remain the elephant in the room.

Women Turkish army officers hold their swords to salute President Ahmet
Necdet Sezer as they parade during a ceremony August 30, 2001, marking the
79th anniversary of Victory Day which is celebrated throughout the country.
Victory day marks the last and biggest attack to drive the Greek army out of
the country during the five year long Independence War after the Ottoman
empire had collapsed. Ataturk founded the Turkish republic in 1923 following
the independence war. REUTERS/Fatih Saribas

FS - RP2DRIEFZUAA

Turkish Armed Forces seeks female fighters

The Turkish military is set to recruit 8,000 women in an effort to bolster its image and defang Kurdish militias' association with female empowerment.