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Turkey

Turkey

May 18, 2026

Ankara 9:37 am

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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

Syrian women walk along an agriculture field after finishing their work in the Lebanese village of Ammiq in west Bekaa March 2, 2015. REUTERS/Jamal Saidi (LEBANON - Tags: SOCIETY IMMIGRATION BUSINESS EMPLOYMENT AGRICULTURE) - RTR4RSZD

Al-Monitor highlights diversity of Islamic feminism

Al-Monitor’s monthlong series on women concludes; Lebanese foreign minister appeals to UN Security Council for protection of Christians; members of Congress seek "formal dialogue" on future of Turkish democracy; the fault lines in Aleppo; have Israeli elections sparked long-stalled Palestinian reconciliation?; Ali Hashem profiles self-proclaimed Islamic State Caliph Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

Iran's President Hassan Rouhani and Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan attend a news conference in Ankara June 9, 2014. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3SXIL

Iran MP calls for postponing Erdogan’s Tehran trip

Iranian officials have called for the postponement of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's April trip to Tehran based on his comments that Iran is trying to "dominate" the region.

Riot police use water cannon to disperse demonstrators during a protest in Ankara March 11, 2015. Turkish police on Wednesday fired water cannon and teargas at hundreds of protesters who had gathered to mark the first anniversary of the death of a teenager fatally wounded during anti-government demonstrations. Mainly leftist protesters chanting "Berkin Elvan is immortal" clashed with police in Istanbul and Ankara. Berkin Elvan, 15, was hit in the head by a teargas canister after leaving his house to buy bre

Congress concerned over Turkey's drift from democracy

Lawmakers have asked the State Department to beef up its support for civil society in Turkey to encourage democratic governance.

A Turkish soldier in historical uniform stands at a ceremony marking the 100th anniversary of the Battle of Canakkale, as part of the Gallipoli campaign in Gallipoli March 18, 2015. Turkish jets flew overhead and warships cut through rough waters in the Dardanelles Straits on Wednesday to mark the centenary of one of the Ottoman Empire's final victories, as fascination with the imperial past flourishes under President Tayyip Erdogan. Record numbers of Turks have flocked to these headlands in recent years to

Gallipoli centenary marks another snub for Turkish minorities

Hundreds of non-Muslim soldiers killed in the Gallipoli campaign 100 years ago were ignored in elaborate centenary observances.

Turkey's Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc addresses the Turkish Parliament in Ankara October 31, 2013. Four female lawmakers from Turkey's Islamist-rooted ruling party wore their Islamic head scarves in parliament on Thursday in a challenge to the country's secular tradition. Four female lawmakers, Nurcan Dalbudak, Sevde Beyazit Kacar, Gulay Samanci and Gonul Bekin Sahkulubey, from Turkey's Islamist-rooted ruling party AKP wore their Islamic head scarves in parliament on Thursday in a challenge to the cou

AKP cracks inflict collateral damage on the Kurdish issue

Bulent Arinc-Melih Gokcek dispute reveals fissures in the ruling AKP ahead of the June 7 election; the Turkish military reiterates its determination to fight the PKK.

Syrians wait at a checkpoint at the Syrian border crossing of Bab al-Hawa on the Syrian-Turkish border in Idlib Governorate January 21, 2015. REUTERS/Abed Kontar (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT) - RTR4MD3V

Are Turkey's young IS recruits now a domestic threat?

Young Turks are increasingly attracted to the Islamic State's radical doctrines, believing their own country's brand of political Islam to be superficial, yet the Turkish government remains unconcerned with the increasing radicalization.

Militant Islamist fighters waving flags, travel in vehicles as they take part in a military parade along the streets of Syria's northern Raqqa province June 30, 2014. The fighters held the parade to celebrate their declaration of an Islamic "caliphate" after the group captured territory in neighbouring Iraq, a monitoring service said. The Islamic State, an al Qaeda offshoot previously known as Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), posted pictures online on Sunday of people waving black flags from car

Is Turkey doing all it can to secure its border?

Reports of 11 foreign medics joining the Islamic State have raised fresh questions on Turkey's enforcement of its Syrian border.

Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan (L) and Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu attend the Extraordinary Congress of the ruling AK Party (AKP) to choose a new leader of the party, ahead of Erdogan's inauguration as president, in Ankara August 27, 2014. Turkish president-elect Erdogan said on Wednesday he would ask incoming prime minister Ahmet Davutoglu to form a new government on Thursday, and a new cabinet of ministers would be announced the following day. REUTERS/Rasit Aydogan/Pool (TURKEY - Tags: POL

AKP's internal tensions finally erupt

The underlying question in the Justice and Development Party's internal feud, is whether President Erdogan will have absolute power in his party or whether detractors will be able to express respectful disagreement.

Shi'ite fighters known as Hashid Shaabi walk as smoke rises from an explosives-laden military vehicle driven by an Islamic State suicide bomber which exploded during an attack on the southern edge of Tikrit March 12, 2015. Iraqi security forces and mainly Shi'ite militia exchanged fire sporadically with Islamic State fighters in Tikrit on Thursday, a day after they pushed into Saddam Hussein's home city in their biggest offensive yet against the militants. A Reuters photographer saw one car bomb explode on

PM Barzani: Shiite militias should be regulated

In an interview with Al-Monitor, KRG Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani addresses the fight against IS, the rise of the Iraqi Shiite militias and relations with Baghdad.

A police officer stands guard in front of the Bardo Museum in Tunis March 24, 2015. The national museum reopened on Tuesday, almost a week after a militant attack which killed 20 foreign visitors. REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi - RTR4UMIW

The Islamic State in Africa

The Islamic State presence in the depth of the African continent was strengthened after Nigerian movement Boko Haram pledged allegiance to the terrorist group.

People take part in a protest against President Bashar al-Assad in the tribal province of Deir al-Zor, eastern Syria, July 22, 2011. Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets across Syria after Friday prayers, activists and witnesses say, in widening pro-democracy protests against a violent military crackdown to crush a four month uprising. REUTERS/Handout (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLI

After four years, Syrian revolution continues

Syrian rebels say that the shift to armed movements against Bashar al-Assad’s regime has pushed people away from the main purpose of the revolution that started in 2011 and called for achieving justice, equality and freedom for all.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko (R) and Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan attend a signing ceremony in Kiev March 20, 2015. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich - RTR4U7NX

Erdogan’s delicate balancing act in Kiev

Ankara is not prepared to spoil ties with Russia over Ukraine.