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Turkey

Turkey

October 20, 2026

Ankara 1:29 am

8°C

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

People lay flowers at a makeshift memorial for the victims of the Nov. 13 explosion at the busy shopping street of Istiklal, Istanbul, Turkey, Nov. 14, 2022.

Turkey says it killed major Istanbul bombing suspect in Syria drone strike

The drone strike came a week after a Turkish prosecutor indicted 36 suspects including a top Syrian Kurdish commander, over their alleged links to the bombing attack in 2022.

A ship docks in the port Lebanon's second city Tripoli, on the Mediterranean coast, on Aug. 22, 2022.

Mediterranean Sea change: Ukraine war upsets Middle East status quo

Emboldened by the independent foreign policies of Western allies Israel and Turkey, more countries in the region are weighing where their own interests lie.

Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan attends a joint press conference with his Russian counterpart following their talks in Yerevan on June 9, 2022.(Photo by KAREN MINASYAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Armenia’s FM in Syria as Turkey’s opposition declares solidarity with Assad

In a statement released on Wednesday, the Munich Security Conference and others, called for "urgent action to overcome the political obstacles that are blocking humanitarian assistance" to Syria.

ILYAS AKENGIN/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey's Kurdish opposition says government obstructing quake relief efforts

Opposition politicians say the usurping of municipalities by government appointees has weakened their ability to respond to Turkey's Feb. 6 earthquake disaster.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is seen on a screen set at Red Square as he addresses a rally and a concert marking the annexation of four regions of Ukraine Russian troops occupy - Lugansk, Donetsk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, in central Moscow on September 30, 2022. (Photo by ALEXANDER NEMENOV/AFP via Getty Images)

Al-Monitor/Premise poll: Russia's role seen as negative in Turkey, Yemen, Iraq

The Russian invasion of Ukraine hurt the region economically, as supply chain disruptions and food shortages topped respondents concerns in Turkey, Egypt, Yemen and Iraq

SAMEER AL-DOUMY/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey’s Central Bank slashes interest rates after devastating earthquakes

The move is likely aimed at weathering the fallout from the devastating earthquakes in accordance with the Turkish government's economy policy to prioritize economic growth at the expense of inflation.

YASIN AKGUL/AFP via Getty Images

Uproar in Turkey as religious body greenlights marriage with quake orphans

Turks are outraged by the powerful Diyanet religious body ruling it permissible to marry adopted children after thousands were left orphaned by the earthquakes.

A man sits atop a rolled-up tent in the garden of Yenimahalle Cemevi.

Turkey bans layoffs, introduces benefits, amid mounting earthquake failures

The Turkish government’s new decisions come amid mounting criticism over its failure to provide a timely and organized response to the killer earthquakes.

Turkish soldiers stand next to a destroyed building in Hatay.

Turkish youth dies in police custody as impunity soars in wake of Turkey's killer quakes

Vigilantes and members of the Turkish gendarmerie are brutalizing some survivors in the provinces struck by the earthquakes in Syria and Turkey.

Greece's Minister for the Climate Crisis and Civil Protection Christos Stylianides (R) shakes hands with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (C) during a meeting with a Search and Rescue team that assisted during the earthquake in Turkey, in Athens, on February 21, 2023. (Photo by MICHAEL VARAKLAS/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Blinken urges Turkey, Greece to end dispute in wake of earthquake goodwill

Wrapping up his Greece visit, the top American diplomat focused on unity among allies as the Ukraine invasion's first anniversary nears.

YASIN AKGUL/AFP via Getty Images

Powerful new earthquake hits Turkey, trapping several under rubble

Another 6.4-magnitude quake struck Turkey’s southern province of Hatay, one of the worst-hit areas just two weeks ago, killing at least six people.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (C) disembarks his plane at Paris-Le Bourget Aiport, north of Paris as he arrives for his visit to Paris, on March 8, 2022. (Photo by OLIVIER DOULIERY/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)

Blinken heads to earthquake-hit Turkey in first visit

The US secretary of state will view earthquake relief efforts at Incirlik Air Base and meet with his Turkish counterpart in Ankara.