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Turkey

Turkey

June 11, 2026

Ankara 7:44 am

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Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan buttons up his jacket during a press conference after the conclusion of the G20 Leaders' Summit at the Nasrec Expo Centre in Johannesburg on November 23, 2025.

Explainer

Turkey-Israel tensions flare over Syria, Lebanon, East Med: What to know

The Turkish president has accused Israel of threatening Turkey through its military actions in Syria, Lebanon and the Eastern Mediterranean, triggering a sharp exchange with the Israeli prime minister.

Aamir QURESHI / AFP via Getty Images

Explainer

Turkey names new envoys to Iran, Oman, Qatar in regional reshuffle

Turkey’s latest ambassadorial changes mark a partial return to career diplomacy in Tehran and the Gulf as Ankara maintains a balancing act amid the Iran war.

Latest News

Analysis

Turkey's probe into pro-secular tycoon goes beyond crude Kurdish joke

Rahmi Koc

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

Explainer

Saudi Arabia, Turkey advance plans to revive historic Hejaz Railway

An old locomotive sits outside the Hejaz rail station in old Damascus on February 23, 2010. The Hejaz railway ran from Damascucs to Medina in Saudi Arabia and was part of the Ottoman railway network. AFP PHOTO/LOUAI BESHARA (Photo credit should read LOUAI BESHARA/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Will Pashinyan’s victory in Armenia be enough to unlock peace with Turkey, Azerbaijan?

Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met on the sidelines of the 79th session of the UN General Assembly in New York, Sept. 24, 2024.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

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

Children sell washing detergent on a sidewalk in Aleppo December 1, 2013. REUTERS/Molhem Barakat (SYRIA - Tags: CIVIL UNREST SOCIETY POLITICS CONFLICT) - RTX16005

Aleppo's children struggle to stay in school

A first-hand report from Aleppo on local initiatives in rebel-held east Aleppo trying to keep children in school.

A member of Iraqi security forces looks on during the digging operations to build a trench on the northern Iraqi border with Syria to prevent people from crossing over into Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region, on April 13, 2014 in Zakho. AFP PHOTO/SAFIN HAMED (Photo credit should read SAFIN HAMED/AFP/Getty Images)

KRG trench divides Syrian, Iraqi Kurds

The ditch dug by the Kurdistan Regional Government at Rojava, separating Syrian and Iraqi Kurds, adds another layer of complexity to the regional conflict.

Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan addresses members of parliament from his ruling AK Party (AKP) during a meeting at the Turkish parliament in Ankara April 8, 2014. Turkey's first directly elected president will be a more powerful figure than the current largely ceremonial role, Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan was quoted on Tuesday as saying, boosting expectations he may run for the post in August. Erdogan is barred by the rules of his ruling AK Party from standing for a fourth term as prime minister and

Hard choices for Erdogan as he mulls candidacy for president

Turkey is heading to uncharted territory of first direct presidential elections.

Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) shakes hands with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during their meeting in Moscow's Kremlin November 20, 2013. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov (RUSSIA - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX15LV1

Israel takes strategic alliance with US for granted

Israel’s neutrality toward the crisis in Ukraine is a dangerous precedent in Israel's relations with the US, when taking into account that it can exist without Russia’s help, but not without American support.

An Israeli air force F-15I fighter jet releases flares during an air force pilots' graduation ceremony at Hatzerim air base in southern Israel December 26, 2013. REUTERS/Nir Elias (ISRAEL - Tags: MILITARY TRANSPORT) - RTX16UHR

Israel's military revolution

The changes in the Middle East have triggered a comprehensive transformation within the IDF, including its strategic doctrine, its battalion layout and the application of intelligence in combat operations.

A Moody's sign is displayed on 7 World Trade Center, the company's corporate headquarters in New York, February 6, 2013. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid (UNITED STATES - Tags: BUSINESS) - RTR3DFKX

Turkey criticizes downgraded credit rating

Turkey blames its long-standing quarrel with credit rating agencies on hasty misperceptions of its political stability.

Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan (first row, C) attends a meeting with members of his ruling AK Party at his party headquarters in Ankara September 28, 2011. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTR2RXTQ

Is Turkey reverting to a 'muhaberat' state?

The Turkish prime minister's interference with the judiciary and a new intelligence bill could signal a return to a single-ruler era — the era of the "national chief."

Journalists demanding freedom for the media take part in a protest against Turkey's ruling AK Party (AKP) in Ankara February 15, 2014. The signs read: "Journalism is asking questions, not keeping silent" (L) and "Press freedom also means people's freedom to access information" (C and R). REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST MEDIA) - RTX18VGG

Double standard for press freedom in Turkey

Neither local nor Western press groups condemned the heavy penalties on the pro-government aHaber TV station.

Israeli soldiers check their weapons at a staging near the West Bank city of Hebron April 15, 2014. An Israeli man was killed in a shooting attack on a civilian car near the city of Hebron in the occupied West Bank on Monday, the eve of the Jewish holiday of Passover, military sources said.
REUTERS/Ammar Awad (WEST BANK - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST MILITARY TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTR3LCE0

Lone-wolf attacks on Israeli settlers increase

Individual, unorganized Palestinian attacks against Israeli settlers are difficult to prevent and reflect a frustrated Palestinian street.

A plainclothes policeman shouts after an explosion, which was followed by two further blasts, in front of Cairo University April 2, 2014. A series of explosions outside Cairo University killed two people on Wednesday, including a police brigadier-general, security officials said, in what appeared to be the latest militant attack in a fast-growing insurgency. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTR3JNLM

Terrorism expands from Sinai to Cairo

Armed extremist groups in Egypt have spread their operations from the remote areas of the Sinai Peninsula to the densely populated metropolises of Cairo and the Delta.

A wounded Islamist rebel fighter carries his weapon during what they said was a takeover of the Furn Al-Ali building that was under control by the Syrian regime in Ramouseh, an area located beside Aleppo Artillery school April 12, 2014. REUTERS/Ammar Abdullah (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTR3L05C

West Aleppo faces unending assault

West Aleppo is suffering intense, continuous bombardment as Islamist rebels sustain their largest offensive yet on regime-held areas.

Russia's President Vladimir Putin (R) meets with Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan at the Bocharov Ruchei state residence in Sochi February 7, 2014. REUTERS/Alexei Nikolsky/RIA Novosti/Kremlin (RUSSIA - Tags: POLITICS) ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. IT IS DISTRIBUTED, EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS - RTX18C9Z

Turkey, Russia tread cautious line over Ukraine

As the conflict between Russia and the West heats up, Ankara and Moscow are finding their neighborly relationship ever more challenging to maintain.