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

Turkey

Turkey

May 10, 2026

Ankara 8:52 am

15°C

ISTANBUL, TURKEY - MAY 06: A man poses for a photograph in front of the newly unveiled, Turkish made intercontinental ballistic missile Yildirimhan at the SAHA International Defence and Aerospace Expo on May 06, 2026 in Istanbul, Turkey. The International Defence and Aerospace Exhibition, showcased Turkish and foreign companies new products and technology. The expo was dominated by UAV products as modern warfare increasingly shifts to drone and unmanned technologies. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)

Analysis

From drones to deterrence: Turkey's ICBM missile signals bigger ambitions

Turkey’s planned test of a 6,000-kilometer missile could boost Ankara’s defense industry prestige, strengthen its deterrence messaging and feed a powerful domestic narrative of technological self-reliance, but it also raises questions about cost, timing and NATO protection.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

MURAT KOCABAS/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images

Culture

How ‘dog mom’ vacuum cleaner ad sparked culture war in Turkey

A Mother’s Day advertisement featuring a “dog mom” triggered a backlash from conservative media, government officials and regulators, turning a soft consumer campaign into a flashpoint over motherhood, declining birth rates, stray dogs and even antisemitism.

Latest News

Turkey, Japan launch defense industry partnership with eye on drones

People look at a drone on display at the Baykar exhibit at the SAHA International Defence and Aerospace Expo on May 06, 2026 in Istanbul, Turkey.

Saudi FM in Turkey as Ankara, Riyadh step up coordination amid Iran war

Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud and Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan in Ankara, May 6, 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

Riot police stand in formation as unseen Turkish protesters demonstrate against Israel's attack on Gaza outside the Israeli embassy in Ankara on November 21, 2012. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday accused Israel of "ethnic cleansing" in Gaza, saying the Jewish state's air raids could not be considered self-defence. AFP Photo/ADEM ALTAN (Photo credit should read ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Israel still cool to gestures from Turkey

In a positive, yet cautious signal, Israel has nominated senior diplomat ambassador Irit Lillian as charge d’Affairs to its embassy in Ankara.

Relatives of the victims of the war over Karabakh, gather for a memorial ceremony, at the Yerablur Military Memorial Cemetery in Yerevan, on December 19, 2020. - Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan led, on December 19, 2020, thousands in a march in memory of those killed in a six-week war with Azerbaijan as the Caucasus country began three days of mourning. Pashinyan has been under huge pressure from the opposition to step down after nearly 3,000 Armenians were killed in the clashes with Azerbaijan over

Turkey’s talk of peace with Armenia rings hollow

A Turkey analyst reported that Turkey claims to be ready to reconcile with Armenia if Yerevan is willing to "take a step," but is that likely?

A Turkish soldier stands guard next to a military vehicle during a joint Russian-Turkish patrol in the eastern countryside of the town of Darbasiyah near the border with Turkey in Syria's northeastern Hasakah province on December 7, 2020. (Photo by Delil SOULEIMAN / AFP) (Photo by DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP via Getty Images)

How Turkey fits in regime-Kurdish showdown in Syria

Some claim that a secret deal between Ankara and Damascus is behind the latest escalation between the Syrian government and the Kurds, but the situation could be more complex than it seems.

A woman gestures as Turkish Police detain activists supporting Bogazici University students protesting against the appointment by the Turkish government of a new rector in Ankara on February 2, 2021. (Photo by Adem ALTAN / AFP) (Photo by ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images)

State Department condemns Turkey's anti-LGBT rhetoric against protesters

Turkey's president and other officials have used inflammatory anti-gay rhetoric to describe the student-led protests in Istanbul.

A man holds his children near their home in a deserted street near the Suleymaniye mosque in Istanbul during a week-end curfew aimed at curbing the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic caused by the novel coronavirus on December 6, 2020. - Under the new restrictions beginning from December 1, a curfew will be imposed on weekdays from 9:00 pm. to 5:00 am. Over the weekend the lockdown will last from 9:00 pm Friday until 5:00 am on Monday. (Photo by Ozan KOSE / AFP) (Photo by OZAN KOSE/AFP via Getty Images)

Tax injustice worsens in Turkey

Two-thirds of the Turkish government’s tax revenues have come from indirect taxes on consumption, adding to the burden of low- and middle-income groups.

Timur Goksel, former Al-Monitor editor and UN diplomat, dies

Timur Goksel, a former UN diplomat and editor of Al-Monitor’s Turkey Pulse, was best known for his unique contributions to the UN peacekeeping mission in Lebanon.

People protest in a street of Istanbul on February 2, 2021 after clashes erupt during a demonstration against Turkish President's appointment of a party loyalist to head Istanbul's exclusive Bogazici University at the start of the year. - Turkey has been hit by weeks of rallies across major campuses and the standoff over the rector gained a new dimension when protesters hung a poster near his office depicting Islam's holiest site covered in LGBT imagery last week. (Photo by Bulent Kilic / AFP) (Photo by BUL

Erdogan likens students to terrorists, condemns Bogazici rallies

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan likened protesting students to terrorists in a speech Wednesday, condemning ongoing demonstrations over the appointment of a government-linked rector to Istanbul’s Bogazici University.

Turkish police seize several tons of illegal alcohol

High taxes on liquor have created a market for illicit liquor in Turkey and police are cracking down.

Ibrahim Kalin, the spokesman for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, speaks to reporters during a roundtable at the Turkish embassy in Washington, DC on April 16, 2019. - Kalin voiced hope that the United States would extend a waiver for Turkey on sanctions against buying oil from Iran. He also said that Turkey was explaining to the United States its purchase of a major arm system from Turkey, a decision that has rattled relations between the NATO allies. (Photo by Shaun TANDON / AFP) (Photo cred

Biden administration makes first call to Turkey

National security adviser Jake Sullivan ran through a panoply of regional issues in a call with his Turkish counterpart.

Members of the "Syrian National Army", an alliance of Turkey-backed rebel groups, ride in an armoured personnel carrier (APC) in the town of Sarmin, about 8 kilometres southeast of the city of Idlib in northwestern Syria, on February 24, 2020, as they take part in a military offensive on the village of Nayrab following an artillery barrage fired by Turkish forces. (Photo by Omar HAJ KADOUR / AFP) (Photo by OMAR HAJ KADOUR/AFP via Getty Images)

Turkey, proxy fighters accused of 'illegally transferring' Syrians for prosecution

Human Rights Watch documented the transfer of at least 63 Syrians to Turkey for prosecution on charges including membership in a terrorist group.

Turkish police clash with students as Bogazici protests near one-month mark

Turkish police cracked down on protests in Istanbul and Ankara, as demonstrations continued over the controversial appointment of a government-linked rector to head one of Turkey’s top universities.

Youth unemployment reaches alarming level in Turkey

The unemployment rate among young people in Turkey is estimated to have reached about 40%, experts say, warning of social unrest and political repercussions.