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Turkey

Turkey

November 11, 2026

Ankara 4:57 pm

11°C

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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

A Kurdish flag is seen as a member of the Kurdish Peshmerga forces stands guard at a security point on Bashiqa mountain, overlooking Islamic State held territories of Mosul, 12 km northeast of Mosul City, March 7, 2015. REUTERS/Asmaa Waguih (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY CONFLICT TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTR4SF4S

Turkey’s joint front with Sunni Arabs, Kurds

Ankara is developing a joint front with the Sunni Arabs and Kurds, and refuses to withdraw its troops from the Mosul area.

Riot police stand in front of protesters during a demonstration against Turkish military deployment in Iraq, in Najaf, Iraq, December 12, 2015. REUTERS/Alaa Al-Marjani - RTX1YDSC

Turkey misfires in Iraq

Turkey’s military deployment near Mosul provokes widespread opposition and sends Russia-Turkey ties into a further downward spiral; Turkey’s Kurds face "unrealistic prospect" for democracy; Barzani on the spot as a result of KRG alignment with Turkey; Russia slams Saudi hosting of Syrian opposition.

U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump waves as he leaves the stage after receiving the endorsement of the New England Police Benevolent Association in Portsmouth, New Hampshire December 10, 2015. REUTERS/Mary Schwalm - RTX1Y6A7

US presidential candidates speak out on Syria

The leading US presidential candidates have differing positions on Syria, combating the Islamic State and the admission of Syrian refugees to the United States.

Turkey prepares for Trump presidency

Many Turks believe Donald Trump will become the next US president, and that his animosity toward Muslims and other minorities represents not just popular but also official American views.

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu addresses a news conference after meeting NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg at the Alliance's headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, November 30, 2015. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir - RTX1WHB6

4 ways Russia could retaliate against Turkey

Russia is mulling its limited options for dealing with Turkey without hurting itself in the process.

Are Turkey and Iran reviving a 16th century conflict?

Turkey's Iraq policy can be traced back to its rivalry with Iran in Mesopotamia centuries ago.

Will Russia's economic restrictions on Turkey backfire?

Some worry Turkey’s losses from an angry Russia could reach $20 billion, but others expect the figure to be much lower and point out that Russia’s losses will be no less painful.

A demonstrator holds a picture of Bar Association President Tahir Elci during a protest in Istanbul, Turkey, November 28, 2015. An unidentified gunman on Saturday killed a top Kurdish lawyer who had been criticised in Turkey for saying the banned Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) was not a terrorist organisation. Witnesses said Bar Association President Tahir Elci was shot in the head after making a statement to the media in Diyarbakir, the largest city in Turkey's troubled, mainly Kurdish southeast. REUTERS/O

Bloodshed stokes Kurdish separatist sentiment

Ankara’s draconian security crackdowns, marked by dozens of civilian deaths, have left many Kurds wondering whether they should give up their struggle for rights and seek independence.

Turkish soldiers in a tank and an armored vehicle patrol on the road to the town of Beytussebab in the southeastern Sirnak province, Turkey, September 28, 2015. Five children were wounded on Monday when a bomb tore through a street in the Turkish city of Diyarbakir, hospital officials said, where deadly clashes in recent weeks have followed the collapse of ceasefire by Kurdish militants. A separate blast in the town of Tatvan wounded five soldiers when their vehicle passed over an explosive left in a ditch

Ankara's Mosul miscalculation

Even Turkmens are unhappy with Turkey’s moves in Mosul, and Ankara may have made a serious misjudgment.

Did Erdogan threaten Iran?

Spokesman for the Hassan Rouhani administration denies that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan "threatened" Iran regarding negative media coverage.

Iraqi security forces stand guard with their military vehicle outside the Turkish embassy in Baghdad December 8 2015. REUTERS/Khalid al-Mousily - RTX1XPHA

Why is Turkey stirring the Iraqi cauldron?

The wisdom and real motives of Turkey dispatching troops to northern Iraq is a topic of hot debate.

Ankara falls into Moscow's trap

Ankara is now being compelled to backtrack on its Syria policy in the face of Russian threats and sanctions, while the United States stands as one of the prime beneficiaries of the crisis.