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Turkey

Turkey

November 11, 2026

Ankara 4:52 pm

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Explainer

Iran war pushes up coal use, complicating Turkey’s COP31 pledge

Turkey is asking world leaders at COP31 to back a global push to use more electricity, even as the Iran war has driven up natural gas prices and pushed some power producers back to coal.

OZAN KOSE/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey bars MP’s wife from travel after his fund scandal criticism: What to know

Opposition politicians and rights advocates described Yonca Verdioglu Sik’s brief detention as an attempt to intimidate her husband, opposition lawmaker Ahmet Sik, over his criticism of the government.

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.

Latest News

Analysis

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

MEHMET ESER/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images

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

United Arab Emirates

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.

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

An Israeli security forces member stands by as a Jordanian helicopter starts to lift off to take U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry to Amman, in Jerusalem, June 29, 2013. Kerry was bound for a meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Amman, Jordan. REUTERS/Jacquelyn Martin/Pool (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX115RJ

US Outs Israel on Syria Attack? Blame Edward Snowden

Why are the Americans providing the international media with information about alleged covert Israeli operations while the Europeans are ratcheting up the settlement boycott?

Relatives and friends of Savas Yayik pray behind his coffin during a funeral ceremony in Diyarbakir in the Kurdish-dominated southeastern Turkey April 26, 2011. Turkish security forces killed three Kurdish guerrillas, including Yayik, in a firefight in southeast Turkey, according to media reports last week, after two days of street clashes across the region. There was no indication of any link between those protests and the clash between soldiers and militants from the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK)

Visit to Southeast Turkey Offers Bleak View of Peace with Kurds

A visit to villages in southeast Turkey provides a window on the challenges for the Turkish-PKK peace process.

Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu (R) speaks with Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan during a meeting at the government palace in Tunis September 15, 2011. Tunisia's new political order will show that Islam and democracy can co-exist just as they have in Turkey, Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday. Erdogan, in Tunis on the second stop of a North African tour aimed at asserting Ankara's growing regional influence, said secularity should guarantee that people of all beliefs, as w

Turkey, Lonely Man Of the Middle East

Turkish foreign policy is in endemic crisis because of the Islamist and sectarian foreign policies of the AKP government.

GEZI PARKI EYLEMI / FOTOGRAF MUHSIN AKGUN RADIKAL

Turkey’s Gezi Park Protesters Regroup for Ramadan

Gezi Park protesters challenge the “religion card” of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan by hosting street iftars to break the Ramadan fast.

Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan addresses members of parliament from his ruling AK Party (AKP) during a meeting at the Turkish parliament in Ankara June 25, 2013. Turkish anti-terrorism police detained 20 people in raids in the capital Ankara on Tuesday in connection with weeks of anti-government protests across the country, media reports said. The unrest began at the end of May when police used force against campaigners opposed to plans to redevelop a central Istanbul park. The protest spiralled int

Erdogan’s Egyptian Obsession

Turkey considers restoring deposed Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood to power as an existential quest.

Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan addresses members of parliament from his ruling AK Party (AKP) during a meeting at the Turkish parliament in Ankara June 25, 2013. Turkish anti-terrorism police detained 20 people in raids in the capital Ankara on Tuesday in connection with weeks of anti-government protests across the country, media reports said. The unrest began at the end of May when police used force against campaigners opposed to plans to redevelop a central Istanbul park. The protest spiralled int

Erdogan Plays Politics With Egypt's Coup

The Turkish prime minister’s stance on Egypt is mostly about domestic politics.

A woman holds a poster of Egypt's President Mohamed Mursi during a pro-Islamist demonstration in Istanbul July 1, 2013. Pro-Islamist groups held a demonstration in Istanbul in support of Mursi on Tuesday. Egypt's armed forces handed Islamist President Mohamed Mursi a virtual ultimatum to share power on Monday, giving feuding politicians 48 hours to compromise or have the army impose its own road map for the country. The slogan on the poster reads, "Mursi, you are not alone!" REUTERS/Murad Sezer (TURKEY - Ta

Turkish Islamists Angered By Arab Gulf Stance on Egypt

Turkey’s isolation over Egypt has forced it to rethink its regional policies.

Israel's Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon (L) meets Turkey's ambassador to Israel Ahmet Oguz Celikkol at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, in Jerusalem January 11, 2010. Israel issued a strong condemnation of Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan on Monday, saying his often fierce public criticism of its policies could undermine relations. Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak will pay a one-day visit to Turkey on Sunday, Turkish and Israeli officials said, a trip that could help mend frayed ties betwe

Israeli Challenges in Reconciliation With Turkey

Israel needs pragmatism in dealing with Turkey.

A poster with the pictures of Egypt's President Mohamed Mursi and Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan (R) is attached to a baby stroller during a pro-Islamist demonstration in Istanbul July 1, 2013. Pro-Islamist groups held a demonstration in Istanbul in support of Mursi on Tuesday. Egypt's armed forces handed Islamist President Mohamed Mursi a virtual ultimatum to share power on Monday, giving feuding politicians 48 hours to compromise or have the army impose its own road map for the country. The slogan

Erdogan Is Right on Egypt

It was a coup and a setback for democracy, not a revolution.

Demonstrators hold Kurdish flags and portraits of jailed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Ocalan during a gathering to celebrate Newroz in the southeastern Turkish city of Diyarbakir March 21, 2013. Jailed Kurdish rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan ordered his fighters on Thursday to cease fire and withdraw from Turkish soil as a step to ending a conflict that has killed 40,000 people, riven the country and battered its economy. Hundreds of thousands of Kurds gathered in the regional centre of Diyarb

Turkish-Kurdish Peace Process Poorly Managed

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan needs to address the trauma resulting from the fight against PKK terror for over three decades.

An Israeli delegation arrives at the Turkish Foreign Ministry to hold talks on compensation for families of victims killed in a 2010 naval raid on Turkish-led humanitarian-aid convoy to Gaza, in Ankara April 22, 2013. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTXYVKG

Erdogan Needs Israel to Recast Faltering Mideast Policy

Having lost his allies in Egypt and Syria, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s route to maintaining his role in the Middle East passes through Israel.

A girl holds a poster of Egypt's President Mohamed Mursi during a pro-Islamist demonstration in Istanbul July 1, 2013. Pro-Islamist groups held a demonstration in Istanbul in support of Egypt's President Mohamed Mursi on Tuesday. Egypt's armed forces handed Islamist President Mohamed Mursi a virtual ultimatum to share power on Monday, giving feuding politicians 48 hours to compromise or have the army impose its own road map for the country. The slogan on the poster reads, " We will not let you victimise him

Post-Morsi Egypt: Gulf In, Turkey Out

Turkey held a positive image among many anti-Morsi protesters but is emerging as a loser with its diplomatic campaign to reinstate the deposed Egyptian president.