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

Turkey

Turkey

September 6, 2026

Ankara 8:40 am

22°C

TAI Hurjet

Analysis

With Hurjet test, Turkey seeks defense dominance beyond drones

With export revenue from the supersonic crewed aircraft, Ankara plans to fund next-generation projects and gain strategic diplomatic and military leverage across NATO and the region.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Ibrahim Kalin, Turkish presidential spokesperson, gives a press conference at the Presidential Complex, Ankara, May 25, 2022.

Turkey and Greece's intelligence chiefs hold rare talks: What to know

The meeting comes after Turkey recently warned Greece over what it called an arms race in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

US sanctions Turkey-based bank over Iran ties

The Treasury Department said Golden Global Bank was facilitating transactions for Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Mecca Alliance

Israel, Greece sign $3.5 billion air-defense deal: What to know

Against the backdrop of growing tensions with Turkey, Israel signed one of its largest-ever defense industry deals to supply Greece with advanced air defense systems.

Latest News

Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Pakistan set Mecca Alliance into motion

Mecca Alliance

Analysis

Why Turkey welcomes Israel-Syria talks despite mounting red lines

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa arrive for a joint press conference following their meeting at the Presidential Palace in Ankara, Feb. 4, 2025.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Culture

In divided Cyprus, FC Barcelona youth camp sparks new dispute: What to know

Barcelona

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

People wearing protective masks shop at a local market, amid the coronavirus pandemic, Ankara, Turkey, Feb. 22, 2021.

Official data lays bare deepening poverty in Turkey

With economic disparities worsening amid the coronavirus pandemic, Turkey’s poverty rate has increased 0.6 points to 21.9% of the population.

OLIVIER MATTHYS/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey wild card in US-Russia conflict over Syria aid

The US administration might be open to a position shift on the Syrian file to secure the flow of cross-border international aid to Syria, a prospect that may spoil Turkey's calculations in Syria and particularly in Idlib.

Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

Turkish troops to remain at Kabul airport after NATO withdrawal

The US president has committed to granting Turkey's requests for support to maintaining troops at Kabul International.

Erdogan and Netanyahu

Why Erdogan may miss Netanyahu

Benjamin Netanyahu’s departure as prime minister of Israel is a loss of sorts for Erdogan when it comes to both domestic and regional politics.

Pupils wearing protective facemasks listen to a teacher in a classroom of a school in Ankara on March 2, 2021, after the country lifted restrictions measures against the Covid-19 pandemic in regions with lower infection rates.

Erdogan's silent revolution seeks more than pious youth

A recent report claims Turkey’s education system has become increasingly Islamist, with curriculum focusing on Islamic concepts at the expense of science and secularism. Yet it remains to be seen how effective this push will be.

This photo taken on May 8, 2018, shows people arriving at the domestic terminal of the Hamid Karzai International Airport of Kabul.

Why Turkey wants to handle security at Kabul airport

Ankara’s willingness to deploy a military mission to secure Kabul’s airport raises questions about the risks it is prepared to take, what allies Turkish forces could have on the ground and what the US administration is prepared to offer in return.

A boy waves a flag as supporters of Pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) shout slogans during a rally as part of Nowruz (Newroz), or Kurdish New Year, celebrations in Ankara, on March 21, 2021.

Gunman kills woman volunteering for Turkey’s pro-Kurdish party

Peoples' Democratic Party deputy Garo Paylan brushed aside the gunman’s claims that his was a lone wolf attack, citing gun-toting photos of the 27-year-old attacker in Syria posted on social media.

YVES HERMAN/AFP via Getty Images

Erdogan tells Biden Turkey won't change position on S-400s

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reportedly told his US counterpart that Ankara won't soften its stance on the Russian S-400 missile systems despite sanctions imposed by Washington over the purchase.

US President Joe Biden (R) speaks with Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan prior to a plenary session of a NATO summit at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) headquarters in Brussels, on June 14, 2021.

The Takeaway: Pragmatism is the new watchword in US-Turkey relations

Plus: A fresh start for Israel; Iran’s hard-line front-runner on the issues; Egypt’s faltering Palestinian mediation; Saudi-Syria talks; Golani’s makeover.

Faruk Ugur waits for customers while selling hot wine at the entrance to his closed restaurant in the Kadikoy district on February 23, 2021 in Istanbul, Turkey.

Critics say Erdogan used pandemic to kill Turkey’s nightlife

Many out-of-work veterans of Turkey's once thriving entertainment world suspect the ruling party of using COVID-19 restrictions to enforce a more conservative lifestyle.

A woman receives a dose of Pfizer BioNTech vaccine against COVID-19 at the Ankara City Hospital, in Ankara, Turkey, on June 7, 2021.

Turkey gives record 1.24 million vaccine doses in one day

Long lines formed outside Turkish vaccination clinics this week after health officials ramped up the nation’s inoculation drive, administering a record 1.24 million vaccine doses Tuesday.

A Kurdish female peshmerga fighter carries her weapon while walking in the foothills of the Qandil Mountains located along the Iraq-Iran border, May 5, 2006.

Deadly attacks stoke KDP-PKK tensions in Iraqi Kurdistan

Turkish Kurdish militants entrenched in Iraqi Kurdistan face mounting calls to leave the region after the killing of six members of the Iraqi Kurdish armed forces.