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Turkey

June 23, 2026

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Germany's forward #26 Deniz Undav (2nd R), an ethnic Kurd, scores his team's first goal during the 2026 World Cup Group E football match between Germany and Ivory Coast at the Toronto Stadium in Toronto on June 20, 2026.

Culture

Amid political setbacks, Kurds shine at the World Cup

Kurdish players and clubs are making rare global gains on football’s biggest stage, offering a brief lift amid ongoing political setbacks across the region.

This photograph shows a Turkish national flag at the Razi-Kapikoy border crossing with Iran next to a black flag on the Iranian side, following the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in eastern Turkey on March 2, 2026.

Analysis

Turkey eyes gains from US-Iran deal as Ankara balances Tehran, Washington

Turkey sees the US-Iran memorandum as a chance to reduce regional spillover risks, revive trade with Tehran and gain diplomatic breathing room.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

A Turkish police officers patrols at the scene of a motor-bike bomb explosion, next to a police station on Oct. 6, 2016, in Istanbul.

Turkey captures alleged ISIS-K media chief near Afghanistan-Pakistan border

The capture comes as Turkish authorities intensify raids against Islamic State networks following recent attacks and alleged plots.

Latest News

Culture

Turkey’s Erdogan meets Orthodox patriarch amid push for reopening Halki Seminary

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan meets with Orthodox Patriarch of Bartholomew at the presidential complex, Ankara, Turkey, June 16, 2026.

Turkey’s Fidan heads to Moscow as S-400 sanctions issue returns to fore

Turkey's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan attends the NATO Foreign Ministers' meeting in Helsingborg, Sweden, on May 22, 2026.

Analysis

Erdogan-Netanyahu war of words signals deeper rivalry for regional influence

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan received Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Turkish House in New York on Sept. 19, 2023.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Feature

Turkey’s World Cup return clouded by politics, dawn kickoffs

Yasin AKGUL / AFP via Getty Images

Ezgi Akin

In Ankara, reporting on diplomacy, EU-Turkey ties, NATO

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

Donald Trump speaks during a news conference during the opening of the Trump Towers Mall in Istanbul April 20, 2012. REUTERS/Osman Orsal (TURKEY - Tags: BUSINESS REAL ESTATE) - RTR30Z7A

Is Ankara waking up to what Trump really represents?

Having vilified President Obama, President Erdogan and his supporters are realizing that ties under Trump may not turn out to be what they hope.

Concrete blocks are placed next to the historical city walls at the main entrance of Sur district, which is partially under curfew, in the Kurdish-dominated southeastern city of Diyarbakir, Turkey March 17, 2016. REUTERS/Sertac Kayar - RTSAV57

Reconstruction work brings more gloom to southeast Turkey

Renovation work has begun in the emptied, conflict-ravaged old city of Diyarbakir, where the government's restoration project is being criticized as a security move rather than an effort to preserve internationally acknowledged historic sites.

Turkish military vehicles drive in the Syrian rebel-held town of al-Rai, as they head towards the northern Syrian town of al-Bab, Syria January 4, 2017. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi - RTX2XITU

What's the holdup in Turkey's battle for al-Bab?

Turkey's president must be mulling over many factors influencing the stalled action in Syria.

Participants of Syria peace talks attend a meeting in Astana, Kazakhstan January 23, 2017. REUTERS/Mukhtar Kholdorbekov - RTSWWZ1

No major deals likely at Astana talks on Syria

The Syrian sides are making no promises at the peace talks in Astana, and despite their joint support for a political solution, neither are Turkey and Russia.

Free Syrian Army fighters help a fellow fighter, who was injured by what they said was a mine near Qabasin town, during an offensive against Islamic State fighters to take control of the town, near the northern Syrian town of al-Bab, Syria January 12, 2017. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi - RTX2YO8J

IS reinforces positions in Syria's al-Bab

The Free Syrian Army, backed by Turkish forces, is facing major difficulties in their battles against the Islamic State near al-Bab in northern Aleppo, where IS is reinforcing its positions and besieging civilians they use as human shields.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan poses as he casts his ballot at a polling station in Istanbul, Turkey November 1, 2015. Turks began voting on Sunday amid worsening security and economic worries in a snap parliamentary election that could profoundly impact the divided country's trajectory and that of President Tayyip Erdogan. The parliamentary poll is the second in five months, after the ruling AK Party founded by Erdogan failed to retain its single-party majority in June. REUTERS/Murad Sezer - RTX1U7U8

Will presidential referendum kill Turkey's democracy?

Turkish voters have a chance to avert the country’s descent into a party-state autocracy in a referendum, after parliament approved constitutional amendments to install a presidential regime.

People inspect a site hit by airstrikes at a parking garage in the rebel-held city of Idlib, Syria January 18, 2017. REUTERS/Ammar Abdullah - RTSW2U6

Is Turkey’s shift on Assad beginning of the end of Syria’s war?

Turkish deputy prime minister says "we just have to work with what we have"; no sectarian divide in Aleppo; the Syrian Kurdish fault line.

Lawmakers from the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) and ruling AK Party (R) scuffle during a debate on a legislation to boost police powers, at the Turkish Parliament in Ankara late February 19, 2015 AFP PHOTO/ADEM ALTAN (Photo credit should read ADEM ALTAN/AFP/Getty Images)

Turkey's parliament comes to blows over Erdogan-enabling reforms

Proposed constitutional reforms have sparked all-out brawling in Turkey's parliament, complete with physical and verbal attacks on female opposition figures.

A board showing the currency exchange rates of the U.S. dollar and the Euro against Turkish lira is on display at a currency exchange office in central Istanbul, Turkey January 12, 2017. REUTERS/Murad Sezer - RTX2YN8E

Turkey offers citizenship to foreigners with deep pockets

To attract much-needed foreign currency to the country, Ankara is offering Turkish citizenship to wealthy foreigners, but given Turkey’s gloomy economic and political outlook, the plan may lead to disappointment.

Students attend a geometry class at Fatih College in Istanbul February 21, 2014. Turkish leader Tayyip Erdogan, shaken by a graft scandal he says is concocted by a former ally, is fighting to secure his political future in the run up to March polls. But more than that, he sees at stake the legacy of an 11-year drive to reshape Turkey, breaking the hold of a secular, urban elite. Picture taken February 21, 2014. To match Insight TURKEY-ERDOGAN/ REUTERS/Osman Orsal (TURKEY - Tags: EDUCATION POLITICS RELIGION)

What is Turkey’s problem with Darwin?

The elimination of the theory of evolution from Turkey's high school textbooks seems to be the latest round in the country's century-old culture war.

TO GO WITH STORY BY BRYAN PEARSON Habib al-Sadr, director general of Iraq's biggest television company, Al-Iraqiya, answers questions during an interview with AFP at his Iraqi Media Network company headquarters in Baghdad's upmarket Al-Karrada suburb, 23 August 2007. Sadr has far-reaching plans to expand his ever-growing media empire -- provided he can outlive the constant threats to his life. All is in place for the launch mid-September at the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan of a new religious ch

Will Egypt join Iraq in the 'Axis of Resistance'?

Iraq is playing the role of broker to include Egypt in the Axis of Resistance, led by Iran.

Carnations and placards are laid on the spot, where Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink was killed, during a commemoration to mark the 10th anniversary of his death, in Istanbul, Turkey, January 19, 2017. The placard reads that: "Long live the brotherhood of people. We will not forget, we will not forgive". REUTERS/Osman Orsal - RTSW8ZI

How Turkey went back to square one 10 years after murder of Armenian intellectual

On the 10th year anniversary of the murder of prominent Armenian-Turkish intellectual Hrant Dink, Turkey appears further from reconciling with its past.