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

Turkey

Turkey

November 10, 2026

Ankara 7:09 pm

4°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

Pro-AKP TV shows face dwindling audiences

Pro-AKP dramas are failing miserably in cinemas and on TV.

Turkey's Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu (front row, 4th L) poses with his AK Party Istanbul candidates for the upcoming general elections, during a presentation in Istanbul April 17, 2015. REUTERS/Murad Sezer - RTR4XRJT

Turkey's election system becomes graveyard for political parties

More than 90 political parties are currently active in Turkey, but the 10% electoral threshold means that the upcoming parliamentary polls will be a race between four of them.

People speak on their mobile phones next to a banner of Istanbul Film Festival at the entrance of Atlas movie theatre in Istanbul April 14, 2015. Nearly two dozen filmmakers and a group of international critics have pulled out of the Istanbul Film Festival after the government prevented the screening of a film about Kurdish militants, in the latest outcry over censorship in Turkey. At least 22 films from the roughly 200 submitted were withdrawn this week and the festival competition cancelled, according to

Turkey’s 4G tender gets bad reception from Erdogan

The Turkish president’s interference in establishing a 4G network in Turkey could harm the country's prospects for future technological developments.

A money changer holds Turkish lira banknotes next to U.S. dollar bills at a currency exchange office in central Istanbul April 15, 2015. Turkish Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci said on Wednesday the lira's slide to record lows was not a cause for concern and reflected global developments, arguing against forex intervention and saying the currency will find its own balance. He also told a meeting in Istanbul that he expected first quarter year-on-year growth of around 1.5 percent, and full year growth exceed

No questions asked about Turkey's suitcases full of cash

Pundits fear that the new Customs Code will turn Turkey into a haven for money launderers and terror financiers.

Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu attends the opening of the Geneva-2 peace conference in Montreux January 22, 2014. Syria's government and opposition, meeting face to face for the first time at a U.N. peace conference, angrily spelled out their hostility on Wednesday as world powers also restated contrasting views on the future of President Bashar al-Assad. REUTERS/ Jamal Saidi (SWITZERLAND - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX17PGV

The Turkey-Saudi axis against Damascus

Will the US support the gains of Islamist opposition in Syria?

A worker carries out a routine check in a natural gas control centre of Turkey's Petroleum and Pipeline Corporation, 35 km (22 miles) west of Ankara, January 5, 2009. The European Union on Monday scheduled talks with Russia to press for a speedy resolution of a dispute with Ukraine that has hit gas supplies to countries in eastern and southern Europe facing freezing temperatures. Turkey has increased gas delivered direct from Russia via the Blue-Stream pipeline under the Black Sea to compensate for a slight

Is Turkish Stream a pipe dream?

Turkey and Russia appear keen on the Turkish Stream pipeline project, setting aside differences, but analysts suggest there is more political than economic logic involved.

Libya's internationally recognized Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni attends a meeting with ministers as well as leaders of the Libyan army in Benghazi, February 1, 2015. Thinni and his ministers visited the eastern city of Benghazi in a show of support for his troops battling Islamists groups. Thinni's forces, together with troops loyal to army general Khalifa Haftar, launched an offensive against Islamist fighters in Benghazi in October - part of turmoil gripping the oil producer four years after the down

Libyan air force attacks Turkish ship

Turkey’s foreign policy was the real target when Libyan forces struck a Turkish freighter off the coast of Derne, killing one crew member and wounding five others.

Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan meets with lawmakers from Azerbaijan (left row) as he is flanked by his officials (right row) in Ankara October 14, 2009. An agreement signed by Turkey and Armenia on Saturday, which would reopen the border and restore ties poisoned by a century of hostility, could help stabilise the south Caucasus with its vulnerable energy corridor and ease Armenia's geographical isolation. Both parliaments must approve it. But it is resisted by nationalists in both countries as well

Erdogan ends discussion on 'Armenian opening'

Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s statement last week seemed to confirm that the Turkish-Armenian rapprochement was indeed an effort driven mainly by Abdullah Gul and blocked mainly by Erdogan.

Kurdish Peshmerga female fighters practise the procedure of dealing with prisoners during combat skills training before being deployed to fight Islamic State militants, at their military camp in Sulaimaniya, northern Iraq September 18, 2014. REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah (IRAQ - Tags: CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT MILITARY TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTR46QER

Concerns rise over execution of IS militants

Captured members of the Islamic State in Iraq are being executed, increasing the possibility of mass killings of civilians and destroying Iraq's future as a unitary state.

Iran’s Kurds rise up as their leaders remain divided

Various Iranian Kurdish groups have split further apart instead of uniting in their struggle to obtain their rights.

Turkey's Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu (L) and Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi review a guard of honour during a welcoming ceremony in Ankara December 25, 2014. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR4J8KH

Abadi tries to balance Iraq between Iran, Turkey

Under Nouri al-Maliki, the Iraqi government did not hide its strong ties with Iran, but with a new administration in place, Haider al-Abadi is trying to cultivate a more balanced policy toward its neighbors.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks during a meeting on April 29, 2015 in Ankara. AFP PHOTO/ADEM ALTAN (Photo credit should read ADEM ALTAN/AFP/Getty Images)

Erdogan spins Kurdish Quran as political tool

The first Kurdish-language Quran published by Turkey’s state-run Religious Affairs Directorate has provoked a political outcry ahead of general elections in June.