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

Turkey

Turkey

June 29, 2026

Ankara 6:03 pm

28°C

From (L-R) Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan attend a meeting in Cairo on June 21, 2026.

Analysis

Why Turkey and Egypt are deepening military ties amid regional turmoil

Turkey and Egypt are expanding military cooperation as overlapping security challenges, from Libya and Sudan to Gaza and the Red Sea, bring the former rivals closer together.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Members of the Jerusalem Armenian community hold placards as they march during commemorations for the 94th anniversary of mass killings of their kin under the Ottoman Empire, Jerusalem's Old City, April 24, 2009.

Explainer

Israel's Armenian genocide recognition marks new front against Turkey

Analysts say the expected vote for recognition is not morally motivated, but intended to spite the Turkish leader.

Latest News

Trump hints at F-35 breakthrough with Turkey ahead of NATO summit

One of the first three US-made F-35 aircraft in Polish Air Force colors taxis along the runway at the 32nd Tactical Air Base in Lask, central Poland, while fire-fighting vehicles perform a water salute on May 22, 2026.

Israel, Turkey, Iran offer aid as Venezuela’s 2 quakes kill at least 188

Responders arrive to a demolished building at San Bernardino after a magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck Venezuela and other regions in the Caribbean on June 24, 2026 in Caracas, Venezuela.

Turkey detains 233 ahead of NATO summit, including LGBTQ+ activist Yildiz Tar

Demonstrators take part in a rally against the upcoming NATO Summit early July in Ankara, on June 13, 2026.

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

Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan (2nd L), flanked by Chief of Staff General Necdet Ozel (2nd R) and Defence Minister Ismet Yilmaz (L), leaves after a wreath-laying ceremony with members of the High Military Council at Anitkabir, the mausoleum of modern Turkey's founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, ahead of a High Military Council meeting in Ankara August 4, 2014. REUTERS/Stringer (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY) - RTR415KJ

Shakeup expected for Turkish military leadership

Major changes are expected at the August meetings of Turkey's High Military Council, and the positions adopted by the new military command will affect Turkish policies, including the course of current military operations.

US, Turkey diverge on role of Kurds in Syria

Turkey reportedly targets Syrian Kurdish militias as it escalates attacks on the PKK; Egyptian journalists alarmed by proposed anti-terror law.

Turkish media digs deeper into gold mogul corruption scandal

New media reports on Reza Zarrab, an Iranian-born Turkish businessman accused in Turkey’s infamous December 2013 corruption probe, could have serious repercussions for Ankara and Tehran.

Are Turkish courts delaying trials of IS militants?

Although the latest wave of detentions of Islamic State militants and sympathizers have pleased the Turkish public, lawyer Ali Cil questions the handling of the Turkish judiciary in the Nigde case so far.

Lobbying 2015: Turkey resents America’s love story with the Kurds

The United States and Turkey are finding ways to work together in Syria and Iraq despite Washington’s growing concerns with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s authoritarian streak.

A Turkish Kurd plays the citar as smoke rises from the Syrian town of Kobani, as seen from the Mursitpinar crossing on the Turkish-Syrian border in Sanliurfa province October 26, 2014. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach (TURKEY - Tags: MILITARY CONFLICT POLITICS SOCIETY) - RTR4BMFX

Few dengbejs remain to sing Kurdish stories

In the old city of Diyarbakir, a dengbej house was established for the few remaining Kurdish storytellers to gather and try to keep their tradition alive, although younger generations are resorting to pop culture to convey the people’s suffering.

Men smoke water pipes at a traditional cafe in Istanbul August 6, 2014. Turkey holds its first direct presidential election on Sunday, with Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan aiming to become head of state after dominating Turkish politics for more than a decade. REUTERS/Murad Sezer (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS SOCIETY) - RTR41GA7

Depressed in Istanbul: Why are Turkey's young Islamist men feeling so blue?

Senior Islamist pundits have highlighted painful challenges young Islamist men face in Turkey.

A Turkish F-16 fighter jet takes off from Incirlik airbase in the southern city of Adana, Turkey, July 27, 2015. Turkey attacked Kurdish insurgent camps in Iraq for a second night on Sunday, security sources said, in a campaign that could end its peace process with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). REUTERS/Murad Sezer - RTX1LYUG

Is Turkey really committed to fighting IS?

Turkey's striking harder at the PKK than at the Islamic State has raised concerns that it is pursuing the domestic political agenda of the Justice and Development Party to marginalize the Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party and gain sole control in early elections.

Has Turkey found world's oldest temple?

A 12,000-year-old Stone Age temple discovered in southern Turkey is challenging conventional views on the rise of civilization.

Turkish trucks and tankers, shuttling between Turkey and Iraq, queue on a road leading to the Habur border gate in southeastern Turkey, before crossing into Iraq with their goods, February 23, 2008. Turkey's exports to Iraq jumped nine percent last year to $2.8 billion and its influence can be felt across northern Iraq in the form of supermarkets, consumer goods, construction firms and traders from all over Turkey. To match feature TURKEY-IRAQ/CONFLICT REUTERS/Fatih Saribas (TURKEY) REUTERS/Fatih Saribas

Turkish private sector gears up for Iran push

An end to international sanctions against Iran raises strong commercial prospects for Turkish companies on the Iranian market.

Is PKK real target of Turkish strikes?

Turkey’s decision to open two fronts, against the Islamic State and the PKK, complicates US cooperation with Kurds in Syria.

A Turkish Air Force C-160D Transall transport aircraft takes off from Incirlik airbase in the southern city of Adana, Turkey, July 26, 2015. Kurdish militants killed two Turkish soldiers in a roadside bombing on Sunday, the military said, apparently retaliating for Ankara's crackdown on the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) launched in tandem with strikes on Islamic State insurgents in Syria. Long a member of the U.S.-led coalition against Islamic State, Turkey made a dramatic turnaround this week by granting t

Erdogan’s shift on Islamic State linked to Kurdish gains in Syria

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan finally takes on the Islamic State while attacking PKK bases in northern Iraq; Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu now the only US ally actively opposing Iran deal; Israel faces pressure to forgo demolition of Palestinian village.