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Turkey

Turkey

July 16, 2026

Ankara 4:03 pm

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Ozgu Ozel

Turkish opposition leader Ozgur Ozel could launch new party by August

Ozgur Ozel’s remarks on a potential new party came as the legal crackdown on the main opposition widened further this week with the arrest and suspension of the mayor of Cankaya, one of the party’s most secure and symbolically important strongholds in the heart of Ankara.

Visitors stand inside Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque in Istanbul on April 14, 2025.

Russian couple faces deportation from Turkey after Bible reading at Hagia Sophia

The couple were detained after reading from the Bible inside the Istanbul landmark, which remains one of Christianity’s most important historic sites despite its conversion into a mosque.

Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler and his Egyptian counterpart, Lt. Gen. Ashraf Salem Zaher, met at the Turkey’s Defense Ministry in Ankara, July 13, 2026.

Turkey, Egypt expand military ties with cooperation frameworks: What to know

Increasing defense cooperation between Ankara and Cairo comes as Turkey seeks to offset the expanding Greek-Cypriot-Israeli alignment in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Latest News

Analysis

From S-400s to SAMP/T: Turkey’s defense pivot gathers pace after NATO summit

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer (L) and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pose after signing a defense partnership agreement on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, Wednesday, July 8, 2026.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Lebanese PM Salam in Turkey as Erdogan seeks wider regional role

Lebanon's Prime Minister Nawaf Salam speaks during a joint declaration press event with French President following their meeting at the Elysee Presidential Palace in Paris on April 21, 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

Students demonstrate against the direct appointment Bogazici university's new rector by Turkish President, on January 4, 2021 in front of the University in Istanbul. (Photo by Ozan KOSE / AFP) (Photo by OZAN KOSE/AFP via Getty Images)

Why Erdogan needs to conquer Bogazici University

Historical Bogazici University has long been an ivory tower out of the control of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his party.

WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 06: Pro-Trump supporters storm the US Capitol following a rally with President Donald Trump on January 6, 2021 in Washington, DC. Trump supporters gathered in the nation's capital today to protest the ratification of President-elect Joe Biden's Electoral College victory over President Trump in the 2020 election. (Photo by Samuel Corum/Getty Images)

Turkey awash with schadenfreude over Capitol takeover

A large number of Turks feel deep animosity toward the United States, and as sense of just desserts prevails as the world reels from yesterday's rioting in the Capitol.

Demonstrators chant slogans as they march with a giant Palestinian flag on May 31, 2018 at Istiklal avenue in Istanbul, to mark the 8th anniversary of a deadly raid on Turkish-registered Mavi Marmara - part of a flotilla of six vessels seeking to break Israel's blockade and enter Gaza. - The crowd has gathered in iconic Istiklal avenue under the banner of the pro-Islamic Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH), one of the organisers of the flotilla that tried to break an Israeli sea blockade of the Hamas-contr

Israel side-eyes Turkish offers of friendship as Ankara shelters Hamas

Turkey’s overtures to Israel have been greeted with bemusement and contempt while hundreds of Hamas operatives remain in Istanbul.

Jens, a 5 years-old boy diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), walks with a new Marsi Bionics exoskeleton designed for children at Sant Joan de Deu Hospital in Barcelona on November 29, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / PAU BARRENA (Photo credit should read PAU BARRENA/AFP via Getty Images)

Turkey’s political divide spills over to treatment of critically ill infants

Children suffering from a deadly neuromuscular disorder have found themselves at the heart of political polarization in Turkey after the opposition called for extra funds for their ultra-expensive treatment.

Intel: Biden to pick Brett McGurk for top White House Middle East role

Picking the former defeat-ISIS envoy to oversee US Middle East policy sends a strong signal to Turkey.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (L) and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky (R) review a guard of honor during an official welcoming ceremony at the Presidential Complex in Ankara on August 7, 2019. (Photo by Adem ALTAN / AFP) (Photo credit should read ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Ukraine deports suspected Gulen supporters to Turkey

Turkey’s Interior Ministry announced the deportation Wednesday of two suspects from Ukraine over alleged ties to a terror group in what human rights advocates condemn as illegal renditions without due process.

Uighurs living in Turkey stage a demonstration to commemorate the anniversary of the deadly ethnic unrests of 1997 in Gulja, China's far-western Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, in Ankara on February 5, 2020. (Photo by Adem ALTAN / AFP) (Photo by ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Erdogan’s China woes: the vaccine and the Uighurs

Turkey’s reliance on China for a COVID-19 vaccine has stirred anxiety in nationalist and Islamist quarters that Ankara might give concessions on the Uighur issue in return.

President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan makes a statement after chairing the cabinet meeting in Ankara, on December 14, 2020. (Photo by Adem ALTAN / AFP) (Photo by ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Turkey draws road map with Egypt, but will Cairo follow it?

Turkey is once again hinting at openness for dialogue with Egypt, but real progress remains elusive.

Students chant slogans and hold placards on January 4, 2021 in front of the Bogazici University in Istanbul during a protest against the direct appointment of the new rector to Bogazici university by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. (Photo by Ozan KOSE / AFP) (Photo by OZAN KOSE/AFP via Getty Images)

Turkey arrests students protesting Erdogan's university head pick

Police raided the homes of at least 17 students after they protested the Turkish president's appointment to lead a top university in what supporters say was a blatant and violent attempt to crush their dissent.

Students protest appointment of Erdogan loyalist to head top Turkish university

Students and faculty members decried infringements on academic independence during protests Monday after a member of Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) was appointed by presidential decree to head one of the nation’s top universities.

How female politicians in Turkey's ruling party help strengthen patriarchy

Female representatives of Turkey's ruling party have been a useful tool to expand patriarchal policies.

US President Donald Trump (3L), US First lady Melania Trump (2L), Saudi Arabia's King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud (C), and Egypt's President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi (3R) pose for a group photo with other leaders of the Muslim world during the inauguration of the Global Center for Combating Extremist Ideology in Riyadh on May 21, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / MANDEL NGAN (Photo credit should read MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Four must-read books on Trump’s Middle East policies

What we learned from Michael Wolff, John Bolton and Bob Woodward about the Trump administration and the Middle East.