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

Turkey

Turkey

November 10, 2026

Ankara 3:56 am

2°C

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.

MEHMET ESER/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

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

Democratic control of Congress complicates Turkey’s push for F-35s and sanctions relief, but Ankara remains hopeful Trump can still broker a deal.

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

The Costa Rican candidate received 12 encourage votes in Thursday's UN Security Council straw poll.

United Arab Emirates

Latest News

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.

Can Erdogan’s Baku visit fix Turkey-Azerbaijan rift?

TOFIK BABAYEV/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey says soldier killed by gunfire from Iran at border: What to know

A sign marking the border of Turkey in Van, Turkey, on March 14, 2026.

Turkey probes Google’s AI search tools, orders protections for news websites

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

Turkey’s Islamists can’t get enough of Lindsay Lohan

US celebrity Lindsay Lohan has become an unlikely promoter of Turkey.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu (R) and Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif shake hands following a joint press conference at the Foreign Ministry in Ankara on August 12, 2016. / AFP / ADEM ALTAN (Photo credit should read ADEM ALTAN/AFP/Getty Images)

Is Turkey ditching Saudi Arabia for Iran?

The recent string of high-level meetings between Iranian and Turkish officials suggests that the two regional powerhouses may be moving closer on Syria.

Turkey's Prime Minister Binali Yildirim addresses the media in Ankara, Turkey, June 27, 2016. REUTERS/Umit Bektas - RTX2IFQI

How realistic is Turkey’s pledge for free factories?

Its budget already gaping, the Turkish government plans to spend even more under an ambitious project to revive the economy in the conflict-hit, mainly Kurdish southeast.

Dogu Perincek, Chairman of the Turkish Workers' Party is surrounded by supporters at the end of a hearing at the European court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, January 28, 2015. The European Court of Human Rights holds an hearing on Wednesday on the case of Perincek against Switzerland. Perincek was found guilty of racial discrimination by a Swiss Police Court for having publicly denied the characterisation of genocide, without calling into question the existence of massacres and deportations of Armenians in

Power struggle erupts in Turkey’s security structure

Two very different groups are vying to fill all the personnel holes Turkey's purge punched into its military and intelligence agencies.

U.S. President Barack Obama extends his hand to Russian President Vladimir Putin during their meeting at the United Nations General Assembly in New York September 28, 2015. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque - RTX1SYBB

What US-Russia fallout means for Syria

A collapsing US-Russia relationship could have profound consequences for Syria’s civil war and the Middle East.

A view of Zalikan Camp in Bashiqa, October 6, 2016. Picture taken October 6, 2016. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani - RTSR6ML

Turks blame US, Iran for encouraging Baghdad against Ankara

Turkey's opinion-makers think Iraq isn’t acting alone in its calls for Turkish troops to leave a camp near Mosul.

Campaign for missing Kurdish politician winds up with a rare happy ending

A Kurdish politician who went missing amid bloody clashes in Turkey in May has turned up safe and sound in Iraq, sparking fresh controversy over his disappearance, which had mobilized human rights activists in Turkey.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan attends a joint news conference with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin (not pictured) following their meeting in Istanbul, Turkey, October 10, 2016. REUTERS/Osman Orsal - RTSRNKO

Erdogan tells Abadi to 'know his place'

The row over Turkey’s military presence in Iraq is growing bigger by the day.

A boy plays with a bicycle past damaged buildings in the rebel held Seif al-Dawla neighbourhood of Aleppo, Syria October 6, 2016. REUTERS/Abdalrhman Ismail - RTSR2TV

UN Syria envoy: Jabhat al-Nusra holding Aleppo ‘hostage’

De Mistura calls on Jabhat al-Nusra, Russia and Syria to end fighting in Aleppo; why is Erdogan mostly mum on Aleppo?

Alevi faith protects rare goats in eastern Turkey

The shy wild goats in the mountains of eastern Turkey enjoy a protected status both from the government and the still-strong traditions of the local Alevi population.

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump pauses as he speaks at a campaign town hall event in Sandown, New Hampshire, U.S., October 6, 2016. REUTERS/Mike Segar - RTSR4I8

Why Turkey’s pro-government media likes Trump

Despite Trump’s anti-Muslim rhetoric, Turks appear to be supporting him for president of the United States.

An Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga fighter looks through binoculars on the top of Mount Zardak, about 25 kilometres east of Mosul, on October 6, 2016.
Mosul, Iraq's second city, was seized by the Islamic State (IS) group in 2014 after multiple Iraqi divisions collapsed in the face of a jihadist assault.
But Baghdad is now planning, with help from a US-led coalition, a major operation to retake the city, which had a population of two million before the IS invasion. / AFP / SAFIN HAMED (Photo credit should r

Turkey's brash behavior riles Iraq

Iraq worries that Turkey, emboldened by the progress of its Operation Euphrates Shield intervention in northern Syria, might be planning an "Operation Tigris Shield" for Mosul.