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

Turkey

Turkey

September 6, 2026

Ankara 8:47 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

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan leaves Eyup Sultan mosque in Istanbul, Turkey, December 11, 2016. REUTERS/Murad Sezer - RTX2UIEV

Erdogan calls dollar and euro holders 'terrorists'

Turkey’s president has likened dollar and euro holders to terrorists armed with guns and bombs, deepening further the controversy on how the country will overcome its foreign-exchange crunch.

Iraq seeks to combine Sunni, Shiite troops

As part of the national reconciliation, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi ordered that the Sunni Ninevah Guard be included in the Popular Mobilization Units.

People drive a vehicle in al-Rai town, northern Aleppo countryside, Syria January 13, 2017. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi - RTX2YTMK

Syrians express 'deep anger' at Turkey for war

Al-Monitor reports from Damascus and Aleppo, where Russian Chechen troops stand guard; Iraqi prime minister seeks improved ties with neighbors.

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim (C), flanked by Turkish Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag (L), Chief of the General Staff of the Turkish Armed Forces Hulusi Akar (2nd L), Turkish Interior Minister Efkan Ala (2nd R) and Turkish Defence Minister Fikri Isik (R), gives a press conference outside the Cankaya Palace in Ankara, on July 16, 2016.
Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said on July 16, 2016 that 161 people were killed in the coup attempt against the government, with 2,839 soldiers now detained

Is Turkish military’s role in politics over?

The failed July 15 coup could be a fatal blow to the Turkish military’s political role.

An elderly woman stands next to a graffiti showing the founder of the Turkish Republic, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, in downtown Istanbul on October 28, 2015, a week ahead of the country's general elections on November 1. The election is crucial for the ruling Justice and Development party (AKP), which lost its majority in a June vote thanks to a strong performance by a pro-Kurdish party, scuppering president Erdogan's hopes of changing the constitution to expand his presidential powers. AFP PHOTO / DIMITAR DILKO

Turkish grannies to get state salaries for grandchildren’s care

The Turkish government has drawn up a program of financial support for women who assume the home care of their grandchildren in the age group of 0-3, but not everyone is happy with the program.

What will be the cost of Aleppo victory for Damascus?

Larger-than-life posters of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad adorn the few walls still standing in the Old City of Aleppo, alongside Syrian flags that have reappeared. What will be the political invoice for the destruction?

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres (C) speaks next to Greek Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades (R) and Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci during a press conference after the Conference on Cyprus, on the sidelines of the Cyprus Peace Talks, at the European headquarters of the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, January 12, 2017. REUTERS/Laurent Gillieron/Pool - RTX2YO3Q

Long road ahead for renewed Cyprus reunification talks

Cypriots watched the negotiations in Geneva with skepticism. While their leaders did not agree, they did focus on the hardest nut to crack, security, and they agreed to work further on it.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan makes a speech during the opening ceremony of Eurasia Tunnel in Istanbul, Turkey, December 20, 2016. REUTERS/Murad Sezer - RTX2VVCI

How Erdogan is redefining who is a Turk

The Justice and Development Party is introducing drastic changes to Turkish citizenship law, uniting Kurds, Alevis and ultranationalist Turks in opposition.

Relatives react at the funeral of Ayhan Arik, a victim of an attack by a gunman at Reina nightclub, in Istanbul, Turkey, January 1, 2017. REUTERS/Osman Orsal TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTX2X4WI

'Devotees of Death' headed for Turkey

Turkey offers the ideal destination for foreign terrorist fighters to blend in after being forced out of Syria and Iraq.

A Lebanese Army soldier stand guard inside a cafe where a suicide bomb attack took place in Jabal Mohsen, Tripoli January 11, 2015. At least seven people were killed after a cafe was attacked by a suicide bomber in the Lebanese city of Tripoli on Saturday. The al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front claimed responsibility for the attack on a Twitter account describing it as revenge for the Sunnis in Syria and Lebanon. REUTERS/Hasan Shaaban (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST MILITARY) - RTR4KW9O

Why Lebanon could be spared from recent terrorism bloodshed

Lebanon has been spared from the terrorism violence that has struck other neighboring countries of Syria over the past few weeks.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi (C) gestures during his visit in Kirkuk, Iraq, October 14, 2016. REUTERS/Ako Rasheed - RTSSANO

Abadi enlists neighbors to support unified Iraq

Iraq is shoring up political and economic relations with neighboring states to prepare for rebuilding after the defeat of the Islamic State.

A board showing the currency exchange rates of the U.S. dollar and the Euro against Turkish lira is on display at a currency exchange office in Istanbul, Turkey, January 11, 2017. REUTERS/Murad Sezer - RTX2YFYP

Turkey faces financial disaster

Turkey's decision-makers need to step up and change their destructive policies rather than inventing an international conspiracy to blame for the country's currency crisis.