Turkish-Kurdish conflict

Members of Iraq's security forces stand guard on the the al-Rabia border crossing with Syria on April 20, 2026.

How Syria's border opening with Iraq redefines Turkey-Kurd balance

After years of closure, the reopening of al-Yaaroubiya crossing is redrawing Kurdish economic leverage and reinforcing Turkey’s regional strategy.

Kurdish people waving Kurdistan flags gather to celebrate Nowruz on the hill of Urkesh in the countryside of Amuda in northeastern Syria on March 18, 2026. Nowruz, meaning "new day," is an ancient festival that marks the start of spring and the new year on the vernal equinox, which usually falls on March 20 or 21. It is celebrated by more than 300 million people worldwide and has been observed for over 3,000 years across regions including the Middle East, Central Asia, the Caucasus and parts of Eastern Euro

Analysis

Is Syria’s Sharaa poised to outdo Turkey in formalizing gains for Kurds?

Damascus is making limited but tangible progress in its engagement with Syrian Kurds, even as Ankara seeks to shape the terms of any settlement.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (L) walks with Prime Minister of Pakistan Shehbaz Sharif upon his arrival during an official ceremony at the Presidential Complex in Ankara, Turkey on June 1, 2022. (Photo by Adem ALTAN / AFP) (Photo by ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Inside Turkey’s role in the US-Iran ceasefire

Turkey used its intelligence networks and rare access to both Washington and Tehran to quietly facilitate the US-Iran ceasefire while advancing its own regional security priorities.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

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

Latest News

Analysis

How Azerbaijan benefits — and risks losing — from Iran war

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.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Desperate to sell its oil, Iraq turns to Turkey amid standoff with Kurds

An Iraqi oil tanker waits at the Khawr Abd Allah canal leading up to Al-Faw port in southern Iraq, on June 6, 2024.

Analysis

No strangers to turmoil, Turkey-Iran to maintain ties under Mojtaba Khamenei

Ali IHSAN OZTURK / AFP via Getty Images

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

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

Iraqi riot police protect the Turkish embassy in Baghdad on Feb. 18, 2021 after calls on social media to gather outside the Turkish embassy to protest Turkey's vows to invade the northwestern enclave of Sinjar.

Turkey’s anti-PKK assault leaves Kurds more divided

Turkey’s unremitting assault against the PKK is destabilizing Iraqi Kurdistan, weakening the rebels on the one hand while bolstering support for them among disaffected locals on the other.

turkish backed fighters near al-bab

Turkey attacks Kurdish militants in northern Syria

The fighters attempted to infiltrate territory held by Turkey and its Syrian rebel allies, according to Turkish state media.

A man holds HDP flags as members of the pro-Kurdish Peoples Democratic Party (HDP) take part in a protest against the detention of HDP members, in Istanbul, on Sept. 25, 2020.

Top Turkish court accepts revised indictment to ban pro-Kurdish party

Turkey’s Constitutional Court on Monday accepted a case seeking the closure of the nation’s second-largest opposition party, the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), after a top prosecutor revised and resubmitted an indictment alleging members collude with terrorists.

US President Joe Biden (R) speaks with Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan prior to a plenary session of a NATO summit at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) headquarters in Brussels, on June 14, 2021.

The Takeaway: Pragmatism is the new watchword in US-Turkey relations

Plus: A fresh start for Israel; Iran’s hard-line front-runner on the issues; Egypt’s faltering Palestinian mediation; Saudi-Syria talks; Golani’s makeover.

A Kurdish female peshmerga fighter carries her weapon while walking in the foothills of the Qandil Mountains located along the Iraq-Iran border, May 5, 2006.

Deadly attacks stoke KDP-PKK tensions in Iraqi Kurdistan

Turkish Kurdish militants entrenched in Iraqi Kurdistan face mounting calls to leave the region after the killing of six members of the Iraqi Kurdish armed forces.

Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) fighters arrive in the northern Iraqi city of Dahuk on May 14, 2013.

KRG puts PKK on notice for killing of peshmerga forces

The Biden administration slams PKK attack on Iraqi Kurdish allies as 'brutal.'

Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) co-chair Pervin Buldan delivers a speech during the party's parliamentary group Meeting in Ankara on June 8, 2021. (Photo by Adem ALTAN / AFP) (Photo by ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Top Turkish prosecutor refiles case to shutter pro-Kurdish party

The pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), Turkey’s third largest party, faces the threat of closure once more after a top prosecutor refiled an indictment late Monday seeking to ban nearly 500 members from politics on terror-related charges.

The entrance of the UNHCR Makhmour refugee camp, controlled by the PKK (Kurdistan Workers Party), is seen Sept. 4, 2003. Journalists have been barred from the site as well as all arms since PKK militants were banned from carrying arms by the United States in Iraq.

Turkish attack near Makhmour camp extends anti-PKK operations deeper into Iraq

Days after warning of a coming operation on Iraq’s Makhmour camp, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said a senior Kurdistan Workers Party official was “neutralized” near the camp Saturday, underlining Ankara’s drive to put pressure on militants in the region.

Biden, Putin

Will Syria come up in Biden-Putin summit?

US pressing to maintain humanitarian corridors into Syria; Erdogan’s issues with US Syria policy; UN envoy refers to Syria’s "tragic irony."

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan delivers a speech after a signing ceremony with Libyan Government of National Unity Prime Minister at the Presidential Complex in Ankara, on April 12, 2021.

Erdogan threatens to strike refugee camp inside Iraq

The rhetoric against Makhmour, a settlement where residents are overwhelmingly sympathetic to the Kurdistan Workers Party, could be part of a strategy to divert attention away from economic problems at home.

Tabqa Dam

NGOs in northeast Syria warn of low water levels in hydroelectric dams

Tishrin Dam on the Euphrates River could shut down next month, which would affect electricity and water supplies for millions of people in autonomous administration, government and rebel territory.

Senior US State Department official Joey Hood delivers a statement in Tripoli during a visit to Libya, in a show of support for the country's transitional government, May 18, 2021.

Turkey touts assassination of top PKK militant as retribution to US

The Turkish media has trumpeted the killing of a high-ranking PKK militant by Turkish security forces in northern Iraq as a reprisal of the US support of the Syrian Kurdish groups, while Turkey seems to be a major blockade before Syrian Kurds’ desire for political recognition.