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Turkey

Turkey

July 26, 2026

Ankara 8:21 am

16°C

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

Is Turkey ignoring Islamic State threats against Christians?

Turkey’s tiny Protestant community has received recent threats believed to be from the Islamic State, but as in the past, state authorities have failed to take measures to protect the community.

Syria's new capital … Istanbul

While Europe panics over 224,000 refugees, displaced Syrians have reached 330,000 in Istanbul alone.

Turkey, PKK clashes continue, but will there be a winner?

The spiral of violence that engulfed Turkey on July 20 is worsening by the day.

Did Jabhat al-Nusra kill 'allied' FSA Commander Radoon?

Responsibility for the assassination of Free Syrian Army Cmdr. Jamil Radoon Aug. 26 remains unclaimed, raising suspicions whether Jabhat al-Nusra could be behind this act.

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani (R) is welcomed by Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan as he arrives for a meeting at Erdogan's office in Ankara June 9, 2014. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3SVX6

After tumultuous history, what's next for Turkish-Iranian relations?

For Turkey and Iran, preventing differences over regional issues from spilling into their bilateral relations will — now more than ever — be a balancing act.

Is Turkey heading toward civil war?

Following the deaths of 30 soldiers and police in PKK operations, a nationwide wave of attacks on Kurds has increased the risk of deepening ethnic strife and stoking renewed separatist sentiment.

Co-chairman of the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party, Selahattin Demirtas walks with his party members to the southeastern town of Cizre, near Idil in Sirnak province, Turkey, September 10, 2015. Pro-Kurdish politicians, including cabinet ministers, attempted to march to a town in southeast Turkey on Thursday to protest a week-old curfew there, as their party came under fire from President Tayyip Erdogan and from a court investigation of their leader. Conflict between militants of the Kurdistan Workers

Can Turkey pull back from brink of civil conflict?

HDP Co-Chair Selahattin Demirtas' "civil war" warning may not be entirely overblown.

PKK's IED attacks catch Turkish military off guard

The majority of Turkish security forces killed fighting the Kurdistan Workers Party since early July have died in attacks using improvised explosive devices, a tactic the Turkish military had not anticipated.

A sailor looks at the Russian missile cruiser Moskva moored in the Ukrainian Black Sea port of Sevastopol in this May 10, 2013 file photo. Russia is sending two warships to the east Mediterranean, Interfax news agency said on August 29, 2013, but Moscow denied this meant it was beefing up its naval force there as Western powers prepare for military action against Syria. Picture taken May 10, 2013. REUTERS/Stringer (UKRAINE - Tags: MILITARY POLITICS MARITIME CONFLICT) - RTX130BI

Russia's expanding military presence in Syria

Russia is apparently establishing its first air base in the Middle East, at Jableh, Syria, a move that would change the rules of the game in the region.

Struggling to keep up, conflict causes major economic setback in Turkey's poorest region

After several years of revival, the struggling economy of Turkey’s Kurdish-majority southeastern region faces collapse.

Erdogan continues to stir the pot in Turkey

Erdogan’s suggestion that if the AKP had gotten 400 deputies in the June elections, then the turmoil and violence in the country today would have been avoided, causes outrage and increases tensions.

Policewomen from Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team run in formation during a graduation performance after training as members of an anti-terrorist patrol team, in Hami, Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region June 29, 2014. Picture taken June 29, 2014. REUTERS/China Daily (CHINA - Tags: MILITARY CRIME LAW) CHINA OUT. NO COMMERCIAL OR EDITORIAL SALES IN CHINA - RTR3WKJW

How the Islamic State is exploiting Asian unrest to recruit fighters

Communication, trust and cooperation among governments and communities are required to prevent the spread of violent extremism and curb the flow of Islamic State recruits from Asia to the Middle East.