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Turkey

Turkey

July 16, 2026

Ankara 3:08 pm

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Ozgu Ozel

Turkish opposition leader Ozgur Ozel could launch new party by August

Ozgur Ozel’s remarks on a potential new party came as the legal crackdown on the main opposition widened further this week with the arrest and suspension of the mayor of Cankaya, one of the party’s most secure and symbolically important strongholds in the heart of Ankara.

Visitors stand inside Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque in Istanbul on April 14, 2025.

Russian couple faces deportation from Turkey after Bible reading at Hagia Sophia

The couple were detained after reading from the Bible inside the Istanbul landmark, which remains one of Christianity’s most important historic sites despite its conversion into a mosque.

Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler and his Egyptian counterpart, Lt. Gen. Ashraf Salem Zaher, met at the Turkey’s Defense Ministry in Ankara, July 13, 2026.

Turkey, Egypt expand military ties with cooperation frameworks: What to know

Increasing defense cooperation between Ankara and Cairo comes as Turkey seeks to offset the expanding Greek-Cypriot-Israeli alignment in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Latest News

Analysis

From S-400s to SAMP/T: Turkey’s defense pivot gathers pace after NATO summit

Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer (L) and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan pose after signing a defense partnership agreement on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, Wednesday, July 8, 2026.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Lebanese PM Salam in Turkey as Erdogan seeks wider regional role

Lebanon's Prime Minister Nawaf Salam speaks during a joint declaration press event with French President following their meeting at the Elysee Presidential Palace in Paris on April 21, 2026.

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

Turkey's women step up protests against AKP, its supporters

Turkey has been a scene of female protests, from women protesting against the new law on marriage to actresses making statements on festivals.

A worker performs checks at Turkey's Mediterranean port of Ceyhan, which is run by state-owned Petroleum Pipeline Corporation (BOTAS), some 70 km (43.5 miles) from Adana February 19, 2014. Crude oil flow through the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline linking Iraq to Turkey restarted on Wednesday at a rate of at a rate of about 300,000-350,000 barrels per day (bpd), a Turkish energy official said. The pipeline, which carries Kirkuk crude to Turkey's Mediterranean port of Ceyhan, was down for more than 10 days after comi

Erdogan renews threats over Kurdish oil

Turkey's president has renewed threats to disrupt the exportation of Iraqi Kurdish oil and invoked Russian cooperation in doing so, despite Russian claims of non-interference.

How Turkey's nuclear plant could curb KRG ambitions

Turkey's decision to strengthen its energy ties with Russia through agreements for the Turkish Stream and the Akkuyu nuclear power plant may put a brake on the Kurdistan Regional Government.

Explosions, heartbreak rock ancient Turkish site as dam moves forward

More than 60 years in the making, Turkey's Ilisu Dam project is set to finally flood 12,000-year-old Hasankeyf and all its relics.

Erdogan's Iran visit sparks talk of Iraqi Kurdistan as 'new Israel'

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan traveled to Tehran to discuss the Kurdish independence referendum in northern Iraqi and expanding economic relations.

Foreign ministers, Sergei Lavrov (C) of Russia, Mevlut Cavusoglu (R) of Turkey and Mohammad Javad Zarif of Iran, attend a news conference in Moscow, Russia, December 20, 2016. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov - LR1ECCK11GRTX

Kurdish referendum tests Iran-Turkey-Russia axis

The warming of ties between Iran and Turkey, driven by their alarm over the independence referendum in Iraqi Kurdistan, has the prospect of paving the way for the reshaping of the regional order.

Turkish soldiers conduct military exercises near the Habur crossing gate between Turkey and Iraq on September 27, 2017 in the Silopi district, southeast Turkey.
Iraqi soldiers on September 26 took part in a Turkish military drill close to the Iraqi border on Tuesday, an AFP photographer said, a day after Iraq's Kurdish region held a vote on independence. / AFP PHOTO / ILYAS AKENGIN (Photo credit should read ILYAS AKENGIN/AFP/Getty Images)

Turkey lays out plans for Iraq's Kurds after independence vote

Turkey is considering a new border crossing to Iraq designed to avoid the Kurdistan Regional Government, but the terrain of the proposed route is controlled by Kurds.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan attends opening ceremony of Recep Tayyip Erdogan Imam Hatip School in Istanbul, Turkey, September 29, 2017. REUTERS/Murad Sezer - RC19182BAB40

Erdogan, Rouhani stand together against Iraqi Kurdish state

The Turkish president's Iran visit opened with a joint news conference in which he and Iran's president repeated Turkey’s demands that the Kurdistan Regional Government annul the results of the referendum on Iraqi Kurdish independence.

Iraqi SWAT troopers stand guard on a street during Kurds independence referendum in Kirkuk, Iraq September 25, 2017. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani - RC1949AF51F0

Kirkuk residents face uncertainty amid referendum crisis

Kirkuk residents are fearful of the security and economic consequences of the Sept. 25 independence referendum as opposition to it persists.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks at the Bloomberg Global Business Forum in New York City, U.S., September 20, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid - RC1570E02590

Erdogan will get fooled again

When things don't go Erdogan's way, he has used the same argument that he was "deceived," but does anyone still believe him?

Iraqi Kurds watch nervously as Erdogan heads for Tehran

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will meet with Iran's president and supreme leader in Tehran as high-level talks continue between historic rivals in the aftermath of the Kurdistan referendum.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan's leaves after an interview with Reuters Editor-in-Chief Steve Adler and Reuters Chief Correspondent Parisa Hafezi at The Peninsula hotel on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in Manhattan, New York, U.S. September 21, 2017. REUTERS/Darren Ornitz - RC1C6B1C2FF0

Ankara could misplay its hand again

Despite hostile remarks from Ankara, the only way to deal with the Kurdish independence referendum is diplomacy, seasoned diplomats warn.