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

Turkey

Turkey

November 10, 2026

Ankara 1:23 pm

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

Turks equally pleased with first communist mayor

Fatih Mehmet Macoglu, the first and only communist mayor in Turkey, has impressed critics with his hard work and inclusive politics and seems ready to run for a second term.

Demonstrators sit between a fire and police barricades during a protest against the curfew in Sur district in the Kurdish dominated southeastern city of Diyarbakir, Turkey, December 10, 2015. Seven Kurdish militants and a policeman have been killed in four days of fighting in a southeastern Turkish province that has been under curfew all week, security sources said. Nusaybin, a district of Turkey's southeastern province of Mardin on the Syrian border, has been under curfew since Sunday. Eight policemen were

Turkey's unhealthy democracy

Turks stay away from politics except when it is time to go to the polls.

Turkey's blurred red line on Russia

With recent scuffles between Moscow and Ankara, further instability threatens the Middle East conflict; but will either country really push things that far?

Iran's military bulks up with new Russian tanks

Tehran plans to purchase T-90 tanks from Russia, but is it enough to strengthen the Iranian military?

The Russian Navy large landing ship Yamal is escorted by a Turkish Navy Coast Guard boat as it sets sail in the Bosphorus, on its way to the Mediterranean Sea, in Istanbul, Turkey, December 9, 2015. REUTERS/Murad Sezer - RTX1XWMH

Turkey goes from zero problems to nothing but problems in the region

Ankara’s recent political and strategic mistakes have resulted in an anti-Turkish alliance in the Middle East that looks to Moscow for support.

Ocalan silent as Kurds' fight for self-rule rages on

The Kurds fighting in Diyarbakir may end their revolt if ordered to do so by Abdullah Ocalan, but the Turkish government has not allowed the imprisoned Kurdish leader any visitors since April, perhaps calculating that the endless self-sacrifice being demanded of ordinary Kurds will turn them against the PKK.

After Paris summit, will Turkey warm up to climate change?

Turkey will need to work harder to curb greenhouse gas emissions in the aftermath of the 2015 UN Climate Change Conference in Paris.

Turkish Kurds flee 'self-rule' neighborhoods

Turkey’s mainly Kurdish southeast is sliding deeper into chaos as residents flee neighborhoods devastated from clashes between the security forces and Kurdish militants.

As both sides rattle sabers, is Turkey on verge of civil war?

Armored and aerial Turkish security forces and the PKK appear to be gearing up for a major offensive in the southeast, evacuating civilians, forbidding doctors from leaving and expanding morgues.

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.