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Turkey

Turkey

October 20, 2026

Ankara 3:26 am

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Chris McGrath/Getty Images

Turkey's defense industry set to hit $20B in new contracts in 2026

The expanding defense industry sector has also become a foreign-policy tool for Ankara, deepening military partnerships with countries including Saudi Arabia.

Turkey's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan (L) and Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi holds a press conference in Tehran on November 30, 2025.

Analysis

Turkey turns to Iran to contain Houthis as Saudi defense commitments grow

Ankara is trying to contain the fighting between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis through Tehran’s help, but Iran may see an advantage in allowing the Houthis to maintain pressure on the kingdom.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Mihrac Ural, who was also known as Ali Kayali, was arrested

Explainer

Syria arrests Mihrac Ural, ex-Assad militia head also wanted by Turkey

The Turkey-born militia chief and a longtime ally of the Assad-regime, was sought by Ankara over the deadly Reyhanli bombings and by Damascus over his alleged role in massacres on the Mediterranean coast.

Abandoned cars piled up among debris and standing water following extremely heavy rainfall, Istanbul, Turkey, Oct. 15, 2026.

Turkey: Flash floods kill 3, paralyze Istanbul after record downpour

Heavy rains stranded hundreds, blocking major roads and disrupting air and public transportation, flooding buildings and forcing school closures across Istanbul province.

Latest News

Explainer

Why Israel, Armenia don't benefit from hijab spat between Turkey, Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev (L) and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan attend the inaugural meeting of the European Political Community (EPC) at Prague Castle on Oct. 6, 2022 in Prague, Czech Republic.

Live Updates

Turkey seizes opposition Halk TV as crackdown widens: What to know

Serhan Asker, General Program Coordinator at Halk TV, makes a statement outside the Ankara branch of Turkey's most-watched news channel, Halk TV.

Iran mum as Azerbaijan’s school hijab ban, Israel ties test alliance with Turkey

A shop owner assists one of his customers at Malta bazaar in the Fatih district in Istanbul, on Dec. 6, 2024.

Explainer

PKK pulls out of Metina in northern Iraq amid Turkey peace process

Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) fighters arrive in the northern Iraqi city of Dohuk on May 14, 2013, after leaving Turkey as part of a peace drive with Ankara.

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

$BERLIN, GERMANY - JANUARY 19, 2020: Turkeys President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Frances President Emmanuel Macron, Germanys Chancellor Angela Merkel, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres (L-R front), and US Secretary General Mike Pompeo (3rd L back) pose for a group photograph during a photo session at an international summit on Libya; the summit is to discuss efforts to achieve peace and reconciliation between Libya's government and General Haftar. Mikhail Metzel/TASS (Photo by Mikhail Metzel\TASS via Getty I$

Turkey’s Libya strategy: cure has become worse than disease

The only positive outcome of Turkey’s "tension strategy" on Libya has been paving the way for the Berlin Libya conference on Jan. 14.

A general view of Nizip refugee camp, near the Turkish-Syrian border in Gaziantep province, Turkey, November 30, 2016. REUTERS/Umit Bektas - RC137324E500

What stops return of Syrians in Turkey to area held by Turkish forces?

What stops Syrians in Turkey from returning to the liberated Ras al-Ain?

From Russia with love: Turkish and Syrian spymasters meet in Moscow

The Moscow meeting between the Turkish and Syrian intelligence chiefs could suggest that a normalization process has finally kicked off between Ankara and Damascus.

Last Ottoman viceroy casts shadow on current Turco-Egyptian culture war

After the success of the series "Kingdoms of Fire,” Egyptian cinematographers may have found the next controversial figure that can be used to counter Turkey’s interpretation of Ottoman history on screen: Muhammad Ali Pasha.

CAIRO, EGYPT - (ARCHIVE): A file photo dated on June 23, 2016 shows Anadolu Agency Cairo office in Egypt. Egyptian police raided Cairo office of Anadolu Agency (AA) and detained four employees Tuesday evening on January 15, 2020. The employees were taken to an unknown destination.

(Photo by Stringer/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Turkey-Egypt row escalates as Anadolu Agency staff detained in Cairo

Tensions are rising between Turkey and Egypt after four Turkish state news agency employees were detained in Cairo.

Court restores Turks' Wikipedia rights in censorship case

The top Turkish court's decision that the three-year ban on Wikipedia violated freedom of expression should have gone into effect after its official publication made it binding on Wednesday, but the website is still inaccessible in Turkey.

Turkey's YouTube gangsters hit mainstream box office

The "Sifir Bir" series set in the southern city of Adana is essentially a constant shootout between dueling street gangs competing for turf, with a bit of the country's turbulent politics.

Don't believe media buzz about Arab buying spree in Turkey

The Turkish press often trumpets enormous flows of Arab money into Turkey, but the data paint a different picture.

Libyan National Army (LNA) members, commanded by Khalifa Haftar, head out of Benghazi to reinforce the troops advancing to Tripoli, in Benghazi, Libya April 7, 2019. REUTERS/Esam Omran Al-Fetori - RC1A261C5320

Can Libya be turned around and become Russia's 'second Syria'?

Russia took an opportunity to mediate between the warring parties in Libya only to see Khalifa Hifter turn his back on Moscow's initiative — perhaps, just for now.

ISTANBUL, TURKEY - JANUARY 12: President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) meets Fayez al-Sarraj (L), Chairman of the Presidential Council of Libyas Government of National Accord (GNA), in Istanbul, Turkey on January 12, 2020. (Photo by Mustafa Kamaci/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Erdogan vows to defend Tripoli government after Libya talks fail

Following the failure of a Russia-Turkey-brokered peace deal in Libya, Turkey's president reaffirmed his pledge to defend the government in Tripoli ahead of Sunday’s Berlin Conference.

Turkey edges toward Islamic law with new finance rules

Turkey's ruling party has imposed religious rules in the public sphere, a move that could have major implications for the country's future.

Anti-Turkey alliance grows as Ankara sends troops to Libya

Turkey has already made enemies through its maritime exploits in the Mediterranean, and now Egypt is seeking to build international pressure against Ankara's military moves in Libya.