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Turkey

Turkey

July 25, 2026

Ankara 10:45 am

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Ozgur Ozel

Analysis

What challenges await Erdogan’s new rival and Turkey’s new opposition party?

Ousted main opposition leader Ozgur Ozel's bid to challenge Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan depends on surviving a widening legal crackdown and reconciling deep ideological, nationalist and Kurdish divisions within his own coalition.

Halil Karaveli

By Halil Karaveli

Turkey’s main opposition Republican People's Party's (CHP) Ousted party leader Ozgur Ozel waves to supporters from atop a police water cannon vehicle after being forcibly evicted by police from his party’s headquarters on May 24, 2026 in Ankara, Turkey.

Top ally of Turkey’s Erdogan backs state funding for Ozel’s breakaway party

Devlet Bahceli’s suggestion exposes a more nuanced position within the country’s governing alliance over the ongoing legal crackdown against Turkey’s main opposition.

Latest News

Explainer

As Turkey rivalry heats up, Greece to acquire $4B Israeli air defense system

David's Sling.

Turkey to begin surveys for planned northern Cyprus gas pipeline

Turkey's servicemen stand at attention on a Turkish submarine as they participate in the live-fire phase of the Blue Homeland 2026 tactical military exercises in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, in Antalya on April 9, 2026.

Iran's Araghchi reveals Turkey's role in thwarting Kurdish offensive

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi speaks during a joint press conference with his Iraqi counterpart following a meeting in Baghdad on June 28, 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

Selahattin Demirtas, co-chair of the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), speaks during a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (not pictured) in Moscow, Russia, December 23, 2015. Turkey's political leadership was wrong to order the shooting down of a Russian warplane near the Turkish-Syrian border, Demirtas said on Wednesday. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov - RTX1ZUU6

HDP leader says Ankara has 'neither the power nor means' to eliminate Kurdish movement

In an interview with Al-Monitor, Selahattin Demirtas, Turkey’s top Kurdish politician, claims the Kurds in the Middle East are on an irreversible path “toward liberation and sovereignty building.”

Is Saudi Arabia next target of Islamic State?

IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi calls for Saudi uprising against "apostate tyrants"; Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erodgan’s policies contribute to Turkey’s growing isolation in the region.

Thousands of Turks stranded at Iraqi border

Thousands of people were left stranded in Iraq when Turkey closed the Habur crossing following the imposition of curfews in the nearby towns of Cizre and Silopi.

Diyarbakir's Christians suffer in margins of Turkey-PKK war

Diyarbakir's Christians, many of them ethnic Armenians, have been caught up in the violence between the Turkish security forces and the Kurdistan Workers Party.

Can Turkish lemons soothe Ankara-Moscow relations?

Turks are wondering why Russia is embargoing everything but lemons and nuts.

The rapid rise and fall of Turkey’s pro-Kurdish party

Selahattin Demirtas, who led the Peoples’ Democratic Party to electoral success in Turkish politics, is now presiding over its downfall.

Palestinians fear Turkey will drop condition that Israel lift Gaza siege

Turkey has long insisted that Israel lift its siege on the Gaza Strip before Turkish-Israeli relations can be normalized, but a recent warming of ties suggests this may change.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan makes a speech during his meeting with mukhtars at the Presidential Palace in Ankara, Turkey, November 26, 2015. REUTERS/Umit Bektas - RTX1VY0U

Turkey lobbyists bring Ankara’s war with Gulen to Washington

Ankara has hired a British law firm to go after Erdogan’s main rival in his self-imposed US exile.

Turkey-Israel dialogue works 'miracle' for Istanbul’s Jews

Turkey’s Jews hold an unprecedented public celebration of Hanukkah amid renewed efforts to normalize Turkish-Israeli ties.

Demonstrators cover their faces as they clash with riot police during a protest against the curfew in Sur district, in the southeastern city of Diyarbakir, Turkey, December 14, 2015. Turkish police fired tear gas and water cannon to disperse a protest against a security crackdown in the main southeastern city of Diyarbakir on Monday, witnesses said, while curfews were declared elsewhere in the region. Turkey's mainly Kurdish southeast has been beset by unrest in recent months as security forces battle Kurdi

Are clashes spreading to western Turkey?

If pressure on the PKK becomes too intense in the clashes in the southeast, there are signs the group might mobilize its proxies to spread violence to western Turkey.

Despite strict alcohol regulations, taverna culture alive in Turkey

Despite increasing alcohol prices and draconian regulations for alcohol licenses, traditional and modern versions of meyhanes are flourishing, offering Turks a place to gather and share raki.

Holidaymakers rest at a beach in the resort town of Bodrum July 14, 2014. As families splash in the sea and lounge in the sun, thoughts of politics and civic duty are a world away for most Turks holidaying on the Aegean and Mediterranean coasts. Only the most committed opponents of Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan leave the beach to queue in a sweltering council building nearby to register to vote in next month's presidential election to prevent what they see as the country's slide towards authoritarianism. Th

Why Turkey’s beaches, hard liquor are losing allure among Iranians

The deteriorating security situation in eastern Turkey coupled with Ankara's hostile rhetoric toward Iran is decreasing the allure of Turkey's liberal beach resorts among Iranians.