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

Turkey

Turkey

June 26, 2026

Ankara 9:11 pm

24°C

One of the first three US-made F-35 aircraft in Polish Air Force colors taxis along the runway at the 32nd Tactical Air Base in Lask, central Poland, while fire-fighting vehicles perform a water salute on May 22, 2026.

Trump hints at F-35 breakthrough with Turkey ahead of NATO summit

The administration is moving ahead with planned jet engine sales to Ankara ahead of next month’s NATO summit despite congressionally mandated sanctions on Turkey's defense industry.

Responders arrive to a demolished building at San Bernardino after a magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck Venezuela and other regions in the Caribbean on June 24, 2026 in Caracas, Venezuela.

Israel, Turkey, Iran offer aid as Venezuela’s 2 quakes kill at least 188

Iran, Turkey and Israel were among the first countries to offer assistance to earthquake-hit Venezuela despite their varying diplomatic relationships with Caracas.

Demonstrators take part in a rally against the upcoming NATO Summit early July in Ankara, on June 13, 2026.

Turkey detains 233 ahead of NATO summit, including LGBTQ+ activist Yildiz Tar

The operation included alleged militant suspects as well as LGBTQ+ and leftist activists, raising concerns over the scope of the crackdown.

Latest News

Culture

Amid political setbacks, Kurds shine at the World Cup

Germany's forward #26 Deniz Undav (2nd R), an ethnic Kurd, scores his team's first goal during the 2026 World Cup Group E football match between Germany and Ivory Coast at the Toronto Stadium in Toronto on June 20, 2026.

Analysis

Turkey eyes gains from US-Iran deal as Ankara balances Tehran, Washington

This photograph shows a Turkish national flag at the Razi-Kapikoy border crossing with Iran next to a black flag on the Iranian side, following the death of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in eastern Turkey on March 2, 2026.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Turkey captures alleged ISIS-K media chief near Afghanistan-Pakistan border

A Turkish police officers patrols at the scene of a motor-bike bomb explosion, next to a police station on Oct. 6, 2016, in Istanbul.

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

An Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga fighter looks through binoculars on the top of Mount Zardak, about 25 kilometres east of Mosul, on October 6, 2016.
Mosul, Iraq's second city, was seized by the Islamic State (IS) group in 2014 after multiple Iraqi divisions collapsed in the face of a jihadist assault.
But Baghdad is now planning, with help from a US-led coalition, a major operation to retake the city, which had a population of two million before the IS invasion. / AFP / SAFIN HAMED (Photo credit should r

Turkey's brash behavior riles Iraq

Iraq worries that Turkey, emboldened by the progress of its Operation Euphrates Shield intervention in northern Syria, might be planning an "Operation Tigris Shield" for Mosul.

Iraqi Marsh Arab women paddle their boats at the Chebayesh marsh in Nassiriya, 300 km (185 miles) southeast of Baghdad, February 15, 2013. The Marsh Arabs who had farmed this area for thousands of years, were badly affected by a campaign mounted by the government of Saddam Hussein in the 1990s to destroy their lifestyle. The marshes were drained of water, and hundreds of thousands of Marsh Arabs were forced to flee to cities, where they live in poverty, the locals in this area said. Picture taken February 1

Can Iraq reach dam agreement with Turkey to protect marshes?

Recent Turkish dam projects, in particular the Ilisu Dam, affect the level of water in Iraq significantly with the marshes drying and the agricultural industry witnessing a significant decline.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan with his wife Emine arrives at Joint Base Andrews outside Washington March 29, 2016 for the Nuclear Security Summit. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas - RTSCR2H

Ankara’s policies in Iraq, Syria perplex US

Turkey's approach to the Aleppo and Mosul issues complicates its relations with the United States.

A member of the Kurdish Peshmerga forces guards a security point on Bashiqa mountain, overlooking Islamic State held territories of Mosul, 12 km northeast of Mosul City, March 7, 2015. REUTERS/Asmaa Waguih (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY CONFLICT) - RTR4SF1D

Iraqi Kurds step into Ankara-Baghdad row

Iraq has called on the UN Security Council to adopt a resolution calling for the immediate withdrawal of Turkish troops from its soil.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin and Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan attend a news conference at the Presidential Palace in Ankara December 1, 2014. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR4GAUT

Is Russia pulling Turkey away from the West?

Western powers must balance Russian overtures to Turkey by reaching out to Ankara on its key concerns and being cautious with their criticism.

Iraqi soldiers fire a rocket toward Islamic State militants on the outskirts of the Makhmour south of Mosul, Iraq, March 25, 2016. REUTERS/Azad Lashkaril/File Photo - RTSIUAB

Turkey-Iraq squabbles threaten Mosul campaign

The dispute between Turkey and Iraq over the presence of Turkish troops near Mosul is threatening to derail the impending offensive to free the city from the Islamic State.

File picture shows the Gulhane military medical academy and hospital in
Ankara August 1, 2003, in which the President Haydar Aliyev of
Azerbaijan is being treated since early July. Azeri diplomats denied
rumours on Friday that veteran President Haydar Aliyev was dead, saying
he was well and would return home soon following medical tests in
Turkey. fs/str REUTERS

FS - RTR17RW

Turkish military faces new front as Health Ministry usurps medical system

Turkey has transplanted its military medical system into civilian life in the Health Ministry.

Turks cry economic warfare as Moody's lowers credit rating

Turkey's freshly downgraded credit rating is fueling paranoia, though economists point out that Turkey's economic decline was well established before the coup attempt.

Istanbul says farewell to favorite feline with new statue

The global carefree cat meme, Tombili, is honored by a bronze statue as a result of an internet petition by locals after his death in his quiet Istanbul neighborhood.

People react near a military vehicle during an attempted coup in Ankara, Turkey, July 16, 2016. REUTERS/Tumay Berkin TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTSI82W

AKP fingers obscure professor for coup mastermind

Many Turks agree that reviled cleric Fethullah Gulen at least inspired the botched July coup, but as the net tightens on his followers, the authorities' focus on a little-known academic seems a bit of a reach.

Even SpongeBob can’t escape Turkey’s post-coup crackdown

Turkey has shut down the country's first and only Kurdish-language channel for kids, dealing a blow to efforts to keep the children connected to their culture.

A man looks at newspapers at a kiosk in Diyarbakir, Turkey November 2, 2015. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday the nation had voted for stability in a parliamentary election that saw the AK Party he founded win almost 50 percent of the vote, and said the world should respect the result. REUTERS/Stoyan Nenov - RTX1UCZZ

Turks love their language, but also fight over it

Turks proudly celebrate their language, but they have always fought over it.