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Turkey

Turkey

May 12, 2026

Ankara 7:25 pm

19°C

Turkish Red Crescent's cars and trucks cross the Turkish border as they leave the Syrian city of Tel Abyad on Oct. 19, 2019, in Akcakale, Turkey.

Turkey's border reopening unlocks new sphere of influence in Syria

Turkey reopened the Akcakale-Tell Abyad crossing on Monday, ending an 11-year closure along the Syria border.

ISTANBUL, TURKEY - MAY 06: A man poses for a photograph in front of the newly unveiled, Turkish made intercontinental ballistic missile Yildirimhan at the SAHA International Defence and Aerospace Expo on May 06, 2026 in Istanbul, Turkey. The International Defence and Aerospace Exhibition, showcased Turkish and foreign companies new products and technology. The expo was dominated by UAV products as modern warfare increasingly shifts to drone and unmanned technologies. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)

Analysis

From drones to deterrence: Turkey's ICBM missile signals bigger ambitions

Turkey’s planned test of a 6,000-kilometer missile could boost Ankara’s defense industry prestige, strengthen its deterrence messaging and feed a powerful domestic narrative of technological self-reliance, but it also raises questions about cost, timing and NATO protection.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

MURAT KOCABAS/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images

Culture

How ‘dog mom’ vacuum cleaner ad sparked culture war in Turkey

A Mother’s Day advertisement featuring a “dog mom” triggered a backlash from conservative media, government officials and regulators, turning a soft consumer campaign into a flashpoint over motherhood, declining birth rates, stray dogs and even antisemitism.

Latest News

Turkey, Japan launch defense industry partnership with eye on drones

People look at a drone on display at the Baykar exhibit at the SAHA International Defence and Aerospace Expo on May 06, 2026 in Istanbul, Turkey.

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

Militant Islamist fighters waving flags, travel in vehicles as they take part in a military parade along the streets of Syria's northern Raqqa province June 30, 2014. The fighters held the parade to celebrate their declaration of an Islamic "caliphate" after the group captured territory in neighbouring Iraq, a monitoring service said. The Islamic State, an al Qaeda offshoot previously known as Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), posted pictures online on Sunday of people waving black flags from car

Is Turkey doing all it can to secure its border?

Reports of 11 foreign medics joining the Islamic State have raised fresh questions on Turkey's enforcement of its Syrian border.

Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan (L) and Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu attend the Extraordinary Congress of the ruling AK Party (AKP) to choose a new leader of the party, ahead of Erdogan's inauguration as president, in Ankara August 27, 2014. Turkish president-elect Erdogan said on Wednesday he would ask incoming prime minister Ahmet Davutoglu to form a new government on Thursday, and a new cabinet of ministers would be announced the following day. REUTERS/Rasit Aydogan/Pool (TURKEY - Tags: POL

AKP's internal tensions finally erupt

The underlying question in the Justice and Development Party's internal feud, is whether President Erdogan will have absolute power in his party or whether detractors will be able to express respectful disagreement.

Shi'ite fighters known as Hashid Shaabi walk as smoke rises from an explosives-laden military vehicle driven by an Islamic State suicide bomber which exploded during an attack on the southern edge of Tikrit March 12, 2015. Iraqi security forces and mainly Shi'ite militia exchanged fire sporadically with Islamic State fighters in Tikrit on Thursday, a day after they pushed into Saddam Hussein's home city in their biggest offensive yet against the militants. A Reuters photographer saw one car bomb explode on

PM Barzani: Shiite militias should be regulated

In an interview with Al-Monitor, KRG Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani addresses the fight against IS, the rise of the Iraqi Shiite militias and relations with Baghdad.

A police officer stands guard in front of the Bardo Museum in Tunis March 24, 2015. The national museum reopened on Tuesday, almost a week after a militant attack which killed 20 foreign visitors. REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi - RTR4UMIW

The Islamic State in Africa

The Islamic State presence in the depth of the African continent was strengthened after Nigerian movement Boko Haram pledged allegiance to the terrorist group.

People take part in a protest against President Bashar al-Assad in the tribal province of Deir al-Zor, eastern Syria, July 22, 2011. Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets across Syria after Friday prayers, activists and witnesses say, in widening pro-democracy protests against a violent military crackdown to crush a four month uprising. REUTERS/Handout (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLI

After four years, Syrian revolution continues

Syrian rebels say that the shift to armed movements against Bashar al-Assad’s regime has pushed people away from the main purpose of the revolution that started in 2011 and called for achieving justice, equality and freedom for all.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko (R) and Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan attend a signing ceremony in Kiev March 20, 2015. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich - RTR4U7NX

Erdogan’s delicate balancing act in Kiev

Ankara is not prepared to spoil ties with Russia over Ukraine.

Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan arrives for a welcoming ceremony at the Presidential Palace in Ankara, March 3, 2015. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR4RUU4

Erdogan grows more radical

Erdogan’s hard-line nationalist and anti-Western rhetoric has become more unrelenting ahead of Turkey’s general elections, but electoral concerns are not the sole reason behind the escalation.

Kurdish women dance during a wedding ceremony at Yekmal village in the mountains of Hakkari on June 24, 2012. Hakkari is a province situated in the Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey, located at the juncture of Iraq and Iran. Mounts Cilo and Sat are the two towering ranges that dominate the topography. The population of Hakkari is mainly Kurdish. Winters are cold and harsh, and summers are hot and dry. Because of the extreme geographic conditions of the region, agriculture as a means of livelihood is limited

Big love in Turkey

The approval of applications to run in the June elections by three polygamous candidates of the Turkish People's Democracy Party indicates that while the practice is illegal, the idea of marrying multiple wives could be acceptable by society.

Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan takes part in a welcoming ceremony in Kiev March 20, 2015. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich - RTR4U5UG

Turkey sidelines itself in US-led coalition against IS

Turkey prefers to be a "reluctant subcontractor" rather than active participant in the international coalition against the Islamic State; US envoy seems to contradict Kerry on Syria diplomacy; Israel faces possible "diplomatic siege" after election; majority of Americans back US negotiations with Iran; Al-Monitor endorses new global standards to protect freelance journalists.

Former army chief Ilker Basbug (C) speaks to media after being released from prison outside Silivri prison complex near Istanbul March 7, 2014. A Turkish court ordered the release of Basbug from a life sentence on Friday, adding to uncertainty over the fate of court cases trying coup plots against Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan. The decision followed a constitutional court ruling on Thursday that Basbug's incarceration for his alleged role in the 'Ergenekon' conspiracy violated his rights, as the court tryin

Turkish 'hawks' want to settle past injustices

The Turkish military is polarized as to whether it should confront the alleged injustices perpetrated by the Gulenists against the army or if it should look to the future.

Unraveling the AKP's 'Mastermind' conspiracy theory

Conspiracy theories promoted by the Justice and Development Party only make Turkish society more delusional and irrational.

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) leaves the room after a hearing at the US Capitol on November 16, 2012 in Washington,DC. Ex-CIA chief David Petraeus began his testimony before lawmakers Friday about the September 11 assault on the US mission in Benghazi, his first appearance since resigning suddenly a week ago. Packs of reporters and camera crews were on hand at the US Capitol hoping to catch Petraeus entering the highly-anticipated, closed-door hearing of the House Intelligence Committee but they were left disappo

Congress marks 100 years since Armenian genocide

Lawmakers introduce resolution ahead of bitter anniversary.