Turkey - AL-MONITOR: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

Turkey

Turkey

November 11, 2026

Ankara 3:57 pm

11°C

Chris McGrath/Getty Images

Explainer

Iran war pushes up coal use, complicating Turkey’s COP31 pledge

Turkey is asking world leaders at COP31 to back a global push to use more electricity, even as the Iran war has driven up natural gas prices and pushed some power producers back to coal.

OZAN KOSE/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey bars MP’s wife from travel after his fund scandal criticism: What to know

Opposition politicians and rights advocates described Yonca Verdioglu Sik’s brief detention as an attempt to intimidate her husband, opposition lawmaker Ahmet Sik, over his criticism of the government.

A steel worker works in front of giant iron melting pot in Kardemir Iron and Steel Factory in Karabuk, northwestern Turkey, Aug. 26 2005. (TARIK TINAZAY/AFP via Getty Images)

Steel factory explosion in western Turkey kills at least 16

Footage from the scene showed a huge plume of thick smoke spreading into the sky as flames engulfed a tall structure within the plant.

Latest News

Analysis

Will Democrats block Trump’s push to deliver Turkey F-35s, lift sanctions?

MEHMET ESER/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Costa Rica's Grynspan extends lead in UNSG poll as Nusseibeh places fourth

United Arab Emirates

Turkey’s parliament ratifies Mecca pact in boost to Saudi Arabia

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addresses Turkish members of parliament during the opening of the parliamentary session at the Grand National Assembly of Turkey in Ankara, on Oct. 1, 2026.

Samuel Wendel

Senior Analyst, Middle East Business & Tech

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

Will Turkey risk military confrontation with Russia?

Leading military analysts say Putin is trying to draw Ankara into a fight that could have disastrous results for Turkey.

The Ottoman legacy in Palestine

In the historical Old City of Nablus in the West Bank, buildings from the days of the Ottoman Empire stand tall.

Erdogan's Kurdish gamble

Erdogan, who wants to establish a constitutional authoritarian regime, is taking a big risk by linking the fate of the struggle with the Kurds to his political agenda.

Salim al-Muslat, spokesman for the High Negotiations Committee (HNC), addresses a news conference after meeting U.N. mediator for Syria Staffan de Mistura during peace talks at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, February 1, 2016. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse - RTX24Z1B

Syrian opposition finally agrees to join Geneva talks

The Syrian opposition said Feb. 1 it would join the Syria peace talks in Geneva to press for an end to sieges and the shelling of civilians.

Turkey’s urban war leaves thousands of Kurds without homes

Expanding clashes in Turkey’s largest Kurdish-populated city have triggered a fresh civilian exodus, with many residents fleeing their homes with only the clothes on their backs.

Turkish products break Egyptian monopoly over Gazan markets

Strengthening diplomatic ties between Turkey and Hamas means Turkish products have been flooding Gazan markets, leading some to believe the blockade on the Gaza Strip could be lifted.

How the Islamic State is still seeping through Syria-Turkey border

Despite new security measures, including walls, Islamic State traffic through the Turkey-Syria border has not stopped.

This file picture taken on December 19, 2014 shows the head of Turkey's intelligence agency Hakan Fidan (C) standing in Ankara. The powerful head of Turkey's intelligence agency, one of the most loyal allies of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has resigned to stand for election as a lawmaker, the official Anatolia news agency said on February 7, 2015. The resignation of Hakan Fidan, who has headed the National Intelligence Agency (MIT) since 2010, has been accepted by Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and will

Turkey plans shiny new HQ for shadowy intelligence operations

Senior Turkish intelligence officers say the $140 million budgeted for their agency's new headquarters reveals there is more going on than meets the eye.

Do Gaza’s melting-pot markets reflect identity crisis?

The Gaza Strip tries to maintain its own culture, even as the blockade forces it to embrace imports.

U.N. envoy Staffan de Mistura speaks to Syria's Ambassador to the United Nations Bashar al Jaafari (R) during the Syria peace talks in in Geneva, Switzerland, January 29, 2016. REUTERS/Jean-Marc Ferre/United Nations/Handout via Reuters ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. REUTERS IS UNABLE TO INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE AUTHENTICITY, CONTENT, LOCATION OR DATE OF THIS IMAGE. IT IS DISTRIBUTED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS. EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR

Should armed groups allied with al-Qaeda be included in Syria peace talks?

Our answer is no; Erekat’s “main priority is not to allow IS to raise its flag in Palestine”; Turkey responds to Biden with fake news.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi (C), Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades (R) and Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras chat outside the Presidential Palace in Nicosia, April 29, 2015. Greece will launch consultations with Egypt and Cyprus to establish maritime boundaries in the eastern Mediterranean, Tsipras said on Wednesday. REUTERS/Yiannis Kourtoglou

- RTX1ATIB

Is Turkey the odd man out as Egypt, Greece, Cyprus cozy up?

Cairo, Athens and Nicosia are busy forging cooperation pacts.

Under pressure from Turkey, UN excludes PYD from Syria talks

Turkey has won the battle over the Syrian Kurdish nationalist Democratic Union Party by blackmailing the United States into leaving the group out of the Geneva III talks.