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

Turkey

Turkey

May 17, 2026

Ankara 2:06 pm

19°C

Ships navigate the Bosphorus Strait on May 02, 2026 in Istanbul, Turkey. Since the outbreak of the US-Israeli war against Iran, forcing the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and together with the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, global shipping routes have been severely impacted. Soaring shipping costs, lengthening delivery times and less efficient routes have seen increased pressure on energy markets and supply chains worldwide. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)

Analysis

Why Turkey sees opportunity in Hormuz crisis to boost Middle Corridor

Ankara seeks to exploit transport disruptions from the Iran, Ukraine wars to push the corridor, but high costs, logistical bottlenecks and South Caucasus politics pose obstacles.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Mazloum Kobane, commander-in-chief of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), speaks during the pan-Kurdish "Unity and Consensus" conference in Qamishli in northeastern Syria on April 26, 2025.

Interview

Syrian Kurdish commander Kobane says Turkey visit ‘in the making,’ Ocalan meeting possible

The SDF commander-in-chief reflected on a fragile integration deal with Damascus, growing Kurdish backlash and ongoing talks with Turkey as questions mount over Rojava’s political future.

Mazloum Kobane

Mazloum Kobane

SDF commander in chief

Latest News

Turkey, Armenia to launch direct trade in normalization push: What to know

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, right, and Armenia’s Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan shake hands before a meeting at Prague Castle in Prague, Czech Republic, Thursday, Oct. 6, 2022.

New Turkey maritime draft bill fuels EastMed tensions with Greece, Cyprus

The helicopter of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan lands on Abdulhamid Han drill ship, the fourth built by Turkey, in Mersin on Aug. 9, 2022, before being sent for gas exploration to an undisputed area in the Mediterranean Sea, south of Gazipasa.

Turkey's border reopening unlocks new sphere of influence in Syria

Turkish Red Crescent's cars and trucks cross the Turkish border as they leave the Syrian city of Tel Abyad on Oct. 19, 2019, in Akcakale, Turkey.

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

Turkish artisans keep ceramic craft alight

In the Turkish city of Kutahya, ceramic artisans preserve a centuries-old craft, looking both for foreign markets and interaction with fellow craftsmen across the world.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (L) and his Greek counterpart Nikos Kotzias attend a joint news conference in Athens May 28, 2015. Zarif said on Thursday he hoped Tehran and world powers would reach a final nuclear deal "within a reasonable period of time" but this would be hard if the other side stuck to what he called excessive demands. REUTERS/Alkis Konstantinidis - RTX1EXFK

How Turkey really feels about the Iran deal

Although Turkey seems to be happy with the Iran nuclear deal, it is hard to say that politically Turkey would be delighted seeing Iran emerging as a regional power and an international actor.

Kurdish fighters gesture while carrying their parties' flags in Tel Abyad of Raqqa governorate after they said they took control of the area June 15, 2015. Syrian Kurdish-led forces said they had captured a town at the Turkish border from Islamic State on Monday, driving it away from the frontier in an advance backed by U.S.-led air strikes that has thrust deep into the jihadists' Syria stronghold. The capture of Tel Abyad by the Kurdish YPG and smaller Syrian rebel groups means the Syrian Kurds effectively

Kurds push back against charges of ethnic cleansing

A visit to northern Syria casts doubts on claims that Kurds are carrying out ethnic cleansing in the area.

Boys wave East Turkestan flags during a protest against China near the Chinese Consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, July 5, 2015. China warned its citizens travelling in Turkey to be careful of anti-Beijing protests, warning them that some Chinese tourists have recently been "attacked and disturbed". The notice, posted on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website on Sunday, said that there have recently been "multiple" demonstrations in Turkey targeting the Chinese government. The notice gave no details regarding t

Attacks on Chinese escalate in Turkey

Turkish anger over Chinese policies has led to attacks and racist protests.

Israeli play about French prostitute premieres in Turkey

Actor Zion Ashkenazi tells Al-Monitor about the warm welcome he and his one-man play based on the life of French playwright Jean Genet received at a Turkish theater festival.

Women sit and look at a container ship navigate through the Suez canal near Ismailia port city, northeast of Cairo May 2, 2014. Egypt has extended the bidding deadline to July 3 in an international auction of 22 concessions for oil and gas exploration, an official with the state-owned gas company said on Wednesday.The previous deadline for companies to submit bids for concessions in the Suez Canal, Egypt's western desert, the Mediterranean sea and the Nile Delta had been May 19. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh

Turkish exports plunge

Turkish businesspeople have long advocated a cheap currency as a means to boost exports, but despite the plummeting Turkish lira, a combination of external factors have led to an alarming decrease in exports.

The Tigris river, with the minaret of a 14th century mosque on the right, flows through the town of Hasankeyf in southeastern Turkey, August 14, 2009. Western export credit insurers quit Turkey's planned Ilisu dam on the Tigris River on July because it failed World Bank environmental and heritage standards, but Ankara said the 1.2 billion euro project would go ahead. Turkey said it was determined to go ahead with the dam project in its impoverished southeast, a region long scarred by unemployment and Kurdis

PKK, Turkey squabble over same dam issue

Turkey's extensive dam construction projects are threatened with attacks by the Kurdistan Workers Party, which sees the projects as destructive and only serving military objectives.

Riot police try to stop protesters in the eastern city of Erzurum, Turkey, June 4, 2015. Turkish police fired tear gas and water cannon to disperse crowds protesting against a rally by the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) in eastern Turkey on Thursday, ahead of weekend parliamentary elections. The clashes are the latest in a series of incidents to mar campaigning in the run-up to Sunday's highly charged vote, in which the HDP is hoping to deal a heavy blow to President Tayyip Erdogan's hopes of a

Is Turkey on brink of more violence?

Increasingly militarized conflict between the Turkish state and the PKK has brought Turkey to the brink of a new spiral of violence.

As companies rush to Iran, Turkey slow to wake up to opportunity

As Western companies have already set up camp in Tehran, Turkey’s business circles are waiting and hoping, but political tensions with Iran do not bode well for openings to Turkey.

International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Christine Lagarde (L) chats with Turkey's Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan (R) and Turkish Central Bank Governor Erdem Basci (C) during a family photo session at the G20 finance ministers and central bank governors meeting in Istanbul February 10, 2015. The United States urged a meeting of the Group of 20 leading economies not to resort to currency devaluations to boost exports, while a draft communique gave a gloomy assessment on Tuesday of the outlook f

Turkey’s incomes circle the drain

The AKP government’s national income projections fall short of targets.

A money changer calculates the exchange rate of Turkish lira to Syrian pound at his office in the southern Turkish town of Reyhanli November 29,2012. REUTERS/Laszlo Balogh (TURKEY - Tags: BUSINESS POLITICS) - RTR3B0WS

Syria’s opposition plans to replace Syrian pound with Turkish lira

The Syrian opposition forces in rebel-held northern areas hope a change in currency will put pressure on Bashar al-Assad’s regime on the economic level.

Alevi demonstrators shout anti-goverment slogans during a protest against the latest violence in Okmeydani, a working-class district in the center of the city, in Istanbul May 25, 2014. Two people died last week after clashes between Turkish police and protesters in Okmeydani, a working-class district of Istanbul, stirring fears of further unrest as the anniversary of last year's anti-government demonstrations approaches. Okmeydani is home to a community of Alevis, a religious minority in mainly Sunni Musli

Prisoner scores small victory in struggle for Alevi rights in Turkey

An Alevi religious figure was for the first time allowed to pay a counseling visit to an Alevi prisoner in Turkey.