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

Turkey

Turkey

April 13, 2026

Ankara 2:40 am

0°C

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (L) walks with Prime Minister of Pakistan Shehbaz Sharif upon his arrival during an official ceremony at the Presidential Complex in Ankara, Turkey on June 1, 2022. (Photo by Adem ALTAN / AFP) (Photo by ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Inside Turkey’s role in the US-Iran ceasefire

Turkey used its intelligence networks and rare access to both Washington and Tehran to quietly facilitate the US-Iran ceasefire while advancing its own regional security priorities.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

This picture taken on Oct. 19, 2020 in Istanbul shows Turkey's third drilling ship 'Kanuni' as it enters the bosphorus near Haydarpasa port.

Turkey launches first overseas drilling mission in Somalia: What to know

A drilling ship has reached Somalia to start Turkey's first overseas drilling mission as regional rivalry heats up in the Horn of Africa.

Latest News

Turkey detains 11 over ISIS-linked attack on Israeli Consulate: What to know

Yasin AKGUL / AFP via Getty Images

One gunman killed during attack near Israel’s consulate in Istanbul

Police officials stand among traffic as they patrol near the Israeli Consulate following a shootout between gunmen and police, Istanbul, Turkey, April 7, 2026.

Analysis

How the Iran war can help Syria manage Turkey and its regional rivals

This handout photograph provided by the Turkish Foreign Ministry press service shows Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan (L) meeting with Syria's Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani (R) in Damascus on Dec. 22, 2025.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Third Turkish ship clears Hormuz as Ankara presses Tehran on safe passage

A bulk carrier sits anchored at Sultan Qaboos Port on March 23, 2026 in Muscat, Oman.

Samuel Wendel

Senior Market Research Analyst

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

Who is behind wave of killings of tribal sheikhs in east Syria?

Syria's eastern province of Deir ez-Zor sees escalating tensions between Arab tribes and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces.

A picture taken on March 30, 2018 shows the traffic jam at the Eminonu district, in Istanbul. - Uber has enjoyed growing popularity in Istanbul, and this has stoked tensions with the official taxi drivers, who have brought legal cases against the firm in Istanbul in a bid to have the app blocked in Turkey, AFP reports. Tensions have also spilt over into violence, with Uber drivers complaining of being verbally harassed, beaten up or even shot at. (Photo by OZAN KOSE / AFP) (Photo credit should read O

Turkey pumps brakes on car imports

Driven by some peculiar dynamics, demand for imported cars has grown in Turkey despite the coronavirus pandemic, leading Ankara to hike taxes to suppress a trend that has worsened the country’s currency woes.

Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades speaks during a joint press conference with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (L) at the presidential palace in the capital Nicosia, on September 8, 2020. (Photo by Iakovos HATZISTAVROU / AFP) (Photo by IAKOVOS HATZISTAVROU/AFP via Getty Images)

Intel: Russian naval exercises could fuel Greece-Turkey standoff in EastMed

A planned Russian drill could worsen an already tense standoff between Greece and Turkey in the energy-rich and disputed eastern Mediterranean Sea.

President of Iraq's Kurdistan Region Nechirvan Barzani (R) attends a press conference with Iranian Foreign Minister in Arbil, the regional capital in northern Iraq, on July 19, 2020. (Photo by SAFIN HAMED / AFP) (Photo by SAFIN HAMED/AFP via Getty Images)

Iraqi Kurdistan president leaves Ankara talks with two Yazidi children

A senior Iraqi Kurdistan official told Al-Monitor that the talks with Ankara were “really good," and the delegation had brought two Yazidi children back with them on the plane.

Turkey hit by ‘second peak’ of coronavirus outbreak

A jump in COVID-19 cases, led by the capital Ankara, prompts new restrictions on social mobility. Dozens of health care workers have died, former government ministers have contracted the virus and doctors are warning that some cities could face a shortage of beds in intensive care units.

Why Mediterranean tensions may not benefit Erdogan at home

An equitable resolution to the crisis with Greece and France would be great for Turkey, but even that may not help the Turkish president’s approval ratings.

The Gaza Strip's Hamas Prime minister Ismail Haniyeh (L) and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan shake hands in front of the lawmakers of Erdogan's Islamic-rooted Justice and Development Party at the Parliament in Ankara on January 3, 2012. Haniyeh's visit was a show of solidarity with the Islamic aid group IHH, which had planned to send the Mavi Marmara vessel with another Gaza flotilla last year but then dropped the plan. AFP PHOTO/ADEM ALTAN (Photo credit should read ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty

Turkey courts Hamas despite US pressure

Despite US and Israeli criticism of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s meeting with the Hamas leadership, the relationship between Turkey and Hamas remains strong.

A picture taken from Cyprus' warship "Ioannides" shows a Royal Navy Lynx helicopter taking part in the "Multinational CIMIC Exercise, ARGONAUT 2019, Search and Rescue (SAR) Operations, a rescue drill in which the militaries of Cyprus, Greece, France, Britain, Israel, Germany and the US participated on May 30, 2019 off the coast of Mari between the southern ports of Larnaca and Limassol in the eastern Mediterranean island of Cyprus. (Photo by Iakovos Hatzistavrou / AFP) (Photo credit should read IAKOV

US officials say partial lift of Cyprus arms embargo not related to Turkish-Greek tensions

Amid ongoing Turkey-Greece tensions in the eastern Mediterranean, US officials maintained the partial lifting of an arms embargo on Cyprus aims to reduce Russian influence and is not a step against Ankara’s recent maneuvers in the region.

ISTANBUL, TURKEY - APRIL 12: Galata Tower and surrounds are empty during a two-day lockdown imposed prevent the spread of COVID-19 on April 12, 2020 in Istanbul, Turkey. The 48-hour lockdown extends until midnight Sunday and applies to more than two dozen cities, including Istanbul and the capital, Ankara. As of April 12, Turkey has reported 56,956 cases of COVID-19 and 1,198 related deaths. (Photo by Burak Kara/Getty Images)

Botched restoration makes Turkish antiquities into punchlines

Experts accuse the Turkish government of hiring inexperienced construction companies to restore precious historical monuments, and the results have been predictable.

Prime Minister of Libya's UN-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) Fayez al-Sarraj (R) meets with Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu at the GNA's presidential headquarters in the capital Tripoli on June 17, 2020. (Photo by - / AFP) (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)

What is Turkey’s role in Tripoli political tremor?

The power struggle inside the Tripoli government is drawing Turkey into a political brouhaha with unpredictable consequences.

Senior Islamic State figure in custody after Turkish raid

Turkish police detained a top Islamic State figure during a raid in the nation’s southern province of Adana as counterterrorism operations continue against the organization’s networks.

Intel: Greece seeks French military aircraft as Turkey renews gas exploration in eastern Mediterranean

Athens seeks French military hardware amid sharp tensions with Ankara.