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Turkey

Turkey

September 13, 2026

Ankara 4:35 pm

33°C

People swim next to the Russian-flagged cargo ship OMSKIY-107, which was attacked off the Black Sea coast and eventually ran aground off the shore of the Sile district, Istanbul, Sept. 3, 2026.

Why Turkey has few options to protect Black Sea shipping

The Russia-Ukraine drone war is hitting Turkish commercial interests, exposing the limits of Ankara’s ability to protect shipping while remaining outside the conflict.

Fighters loyal to the Houthi authorities gather during a rally to recruit more fighters in Sanaa on Sept. 10, 2026.

Analysis

Saudi Arabia's Houthi crisis tests alliances with Trump, Turkey and Pakistan

As the Houthis tighten their grip on the Bab al-Mandeb, Saudi Arabia is turning to new regional alliances while Washington resists calls to intervene.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Latest News

Turkey’s defense giants court Egypt at Alamein Airshow: What to know

El Alamein International Airshow

Russia to give Turkey preferential fertilizer access amid Hormuz supply crunch

In this pool photograph distributed by the Russian state agency Sputnik, Russia's President Vladimir Putin and Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan hold a meeting on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summit in Bishkek on September 1, 2026. (Photo by Kristina Solovyova / POOL / AFP via Getty Images)

Culture

Turkish ceramicist Leyla Borovali shapes Aegean heritage into clay

Leyla Borovali at her studio overlooking the Aegean

Analysis

With Hurjet test, Turkey seeks defense dominance beyond drones

TAI Hurjet

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

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

Visitors leave the "Tracing Istanbul", an exhibition of works by Greek artists, at the Greek Orthodox seminary in Heybeliada island near Istanbul September 4, 2010. An Istanbul seminary closed in 1971 is hosting its first public event in 40 years, raising hopes it may shortly be reopened by Turkey and once again educate priests for the Greek Orthodox community. The European Union and the United States have pressed EU membership hopeful Turkey to reopen the historic school, which occupies a beautiful and com

Patriarch Asks Turkey to End Stalemate Over Shuttered Seminary

The ecumenical patriarch of the Greek Orthodox Church has his fingers crossed that the Turkish government will reopen the theological seminary on Istanbul’s Halki Island.

Smoke rises after what activists said was shelling by forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad in the village of Dourit, in Latakia countryside August 17, 2013. Picture taken August 17, 2013. REUTERS/Khattab Abdulaa (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTX12PMS

Syria's Alawites Torn Between Regime, Opposition

While many analysts inside and outside Syria seem to assume Syrian Alawites support President Bashar al-Assad’s Baathist regime, the reality on the ground is much more nuanced.

A protester supporting ousted Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi carries an injured demonstrator (R) during clashes outside Azbkya police station at Ramses Square in Cairo, August 16, 2013. About 50 people were killed in protests in Cairo on Friday, security officials said. Thousands of supporters of deposed President Mohamed Mursi have been staging nationwide protests against a security crackdown on Islamists. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTX12NQA

The Muslim Brotherhood’s Final Card?

Al-Monitor’s coverage of the bloodshed in Egypt.

Soldiers stand guard on an armoured personnel carrier positioned outside Ramses Square, near al-Fath mosque in Cairo August 17, 2013. Egyptian authorities rounded up more than 1,000 Islamists as the Muslim Brotherhood leadership defiantly called a week of nationwide protests starting on Saturday after a day of carnage. After Friday's bloodshed in which more than 100 people died in clashes that pushed Egypt ever closer to anarchy, tensions were high with supporters of ousted Islamist President Mohamed Mursi

The Aftermath of 72 Tumultuous Hours in Cairo

Egypt’s January 2011 revolution is beyond restoration.

Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen is pictured at his residence in Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania in this December 28, 2004 file photo. A rare defence from a secretive Islamic movement of its role in Turkish political life has exposed a rift with Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan that could weaken one of modern Turkey's most powerful leaders. The spell of Gulen, a 72-year-old U.S.-based Islamic preacher with a global network of schools, whose supporters say they number in the millions, has long loomed large over Turke

Gulenist-AKP Clash Is Now in the Open

A statement by the Journalists and Writers Foundation of the Gulen movement exposes the clash with the ruling Justice and Development Party.

Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan gestures as he addresses the media before leaving for Turkmenistan at Esenboga Airport in Ankara August 15, 2013. Erdogan called on Thursday for the U.N. Security Council to convene quickly and act after what he described as a massacre in Egypt, during a news conference in Ankara. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX12M4D

Rumors of Erdogan’s Health Problems Ring False

Despite mounting speculations about his health, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan looks pretty healthy for a man who has been alleged with having colon cancer.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari speaks at the Diplomatic and Political Joint Coordinating Committee meeting hosted by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry at the State Department in Washington August 15, 2013. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX12MHG

Iraqi Official: Rouhani 'Means Serious Business' With US

Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari says the Iranian leadership could have prevented Hassan Rouhani from becoming president if it wanted to continue hard-line policies toward the United States.

Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan gestures as he addresses the media before leaving for Turkmenistan at Esenboga Airport in Ankara August 15, 2013. Erdogan called on Thursday for the U.N. Security Council to convene quickly and act after what he described as a massacre in Egypt, during a news conference in Ankara. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX12M4D

Erdogan’s Self-Righteous Blast on Egypt

The Turkish prime minister’s remarks on Egypt are geared toward Turkish domestic politics.

Selahattin Demirtas, co-chairman of the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) answers a question during a Reuters interview in Berlin April 15, 2013. A top Kurdish politician said on Monday it would be difficult for Kurdish fighters to disarm before leaving Turkey under a peace process, stressing that the key issue was that they depart peacefully without contact with the Turkish military. Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's government is seeking a weapons-free pullout by militants of the Kurdistan Workers

Turkish-PKK Peace Process Faces Deadlines

Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan’s peace process with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) is complicated by his domestic political agenda.

Kurdish Peshmerga troops are deployed on the outskirts of Kirkuk, some 250km (155 miles) north of Baghdad, November 24, 2012. Iraq's Kurdish region has sent reinforcements to a disputed area where its troops are involved in a standoff with the Iraqi army, a senior Kurdish military official said, despite calls on both sides for dialogue to calm the situation. Picture taken November 24, 2012. REUTERS/Azad Lashkari (IRAQ - Tags: CONFLICT POLITICS MILITARY) - RTR3AUX2

Iraqi Kurdish Forces Help Defend Baghdad

The increase of terrorist bombings in Baghdad has been a catalyst for more consultation between Iraqi federal and Iraqi Kurdish peshmerga forces.

An alleged Palestinian collaborator with Israel covers his face as he poses for the camera inside a Hamas-run prison in Gaza City April 23, 2013. The Islamist Hamas government, which is pledged to Israel's destruction by force of arms, is lauding a recent campaign to root out informants in its midst, which it hopes will deprive Israel of a subtle but effective tool. Picture taken April 23, 2013. To match Feature PALESTINIANS-HAMAS/SPIES REUTERS/Suhaib Salem (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) -

Families of Palestinian Spies for Israel Face Stigma in Gaza

Families of Palestinians who have been caught spying for Israel suffer discrimination and isolation in their communities.

A supporter of deposed Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi holds up his photo while standing at the top of lamp posts during a march to show solidarity with his supporters in Egypt, in Sanaa August 15, 2013. The poster reads "We are all with legitimacy". REUTERS/Mohamed al-Sayaghi (YEMEN - Tags: TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY CIVIL UNREST POLITICS) - RTX12MHB

Turkish Lessons for Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood

Whatever its current mistakes, the success of the AKP — arguably the superstar of global Islamism — lies in the fact that it is less ideological and more pragmatic than its forerunners.