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Turkey

Turkey

June 11, 2026

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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

Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal (L) and Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu (R) attend the Fourth Ministerial Meeting of Turkey-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in Istanbul January 28, 2012. REUTERS/Osman Orsal (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR2WZJV

The Saudi-Turkey cold war for Sunni hegemony

Saudi Arabia views Turkey's mix of democracy and Islam as a threat to its own regional role.

Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan (3rd R) greets his supporters with his family members in Ankara March 31, 2014. Tayyip Erdogan's ruling AKP party appeared on Sunday to be heading for a clear victory in local polls that have become a referendum on a prime minister facing corruption scandals and security leaks he blames on "traitors" embedded in state bodies. Erdogan's family members from L to R are his son-in-law Berat Albayrak, his daughter Esra Erdogan Albayrak, his wife Emine, his son Bilal and his

Erdogan plays Egypt card in 'ballot box' victory

The municipal elections may have been a victory for Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the Justice and Development Party (AKP), but not necessarily a victory for Turkish democracy.

Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan (L), accompanied by his son Bilal and daughter Sumeyye, greets his supporters at the AK Party headquarters in Ankara March 30, 2014. Tayyip Erdogan declared victory in local polls that had become a referendum on his rule and said he would "enter the lair" of enemies who have accused him of corruption and leaked state secrets. "They will pay for this," he said. Erdogan spoke from a balcony at his AK Party headquarters to thousands of cheering supporters as early results

Erdogan: political enemies will 'pay the price'

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who saw the polls as a means of vindicating himself from corruption accusations, appears to be declaring war on the Gulen movement.

Demonstrators hold Kurdish and Syrian opposition flags during a protest against Syria's President Bashar al-Assad in Kobani, near Aleppo, July 16, 2012. Picture taken July 16, 2012. REUTERS/Shaam News Network/Handout (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT) FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. IT IS DISTRIBUTED, EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS - RTR350D5

Syrian Kurds blame Iran, Turkey for ISIS attacks

Syria's main Kurdish force, the Democratic Union Party, says that the ISIS battle with Syrian Kurdish groups is benefiting the Syrian government.

A woman casts her ballot inside a polling station during municipal elections in Istanbul March 30, 2014. REUTERS/Murad Sezer (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS) - RTR3J5TY

Why Turkey’s elections may not matter

Today’s election may have less of an effect in Turkey than many think, as electoral upsets have been relatively rare and their consequences limited.

Supporters of the ruling AK Party wear Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan masks during an election rally in Konya, central Turkey, March 28, 2014. Erdogan pulled out of election rallies in central Turkey on Friday in order to rest his voice after weeks of campaigning around the country, his office said. Erdogan had difficulty speaking at rallies in southeast Turkey on Thursday ahead of Sunday's local elections. Turkey will hold municipal elections on March 30. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIO

Turkey a 'political war zone' on eve of elections

Turkey's leaders look to Syria as a distraction from the latest domestic political crisis; the US Congress considers new sanctions on Hezbollah; Al-Monitor expands coverage of Russia and the Middle East.

The Turkish-owned cruise liner Mavi Marmara is seen under maintenance at a shipyard in Istanbul April 21, 2013. An Israeli delegation will visit Turkey for the first time in three years in another sign of thawing relations since the U.S. brokered a breakthrough in March, but any further advancement in ties was expected to be incremental. Israel apologised to Turkey over the killing of nine Turks in a 2010 naval raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla, which included the Mavi Marmara, and the two agreed to normalise r

Is Turkish-Israeli reconciliation back on track?

The shifting regional picture may be forcing Israel and Turkey to rebuild ties, but only after Turkey’s elections on March 30.

A Palestinian member of the Al-Qassam brigades, the armed wing of the Hamas movement, gives a speech during a rally marking the 25th anniversary of the founding of Hamas, in Gaza City December 8, 2012. Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal, making his first ever visit to the Gaza Strip, vowed on Saturday never to recognise Israel and said his Islamist group would never abandon its claim to all Israeli territory. REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS ANNIVERSARY CIVIL UNREST MILITARY) - RTR3BCKX

Foreign journalists accuse Hamas of SMS threats

Hamas officials deny they had anything to do with the messages allegedly sent by the party's military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades.

A Palestinian boy waits with his family, hoping to cross into Egypt, at Rafah crossing between Egypt and the southern Gaza Strip February 4, 2014. Egyptian authorities partially opened the Rafah crossing, Gaza's main window to the world, on Tuesday for three days, Palestinian border officials said. Since July 2013, the authorities have kept the crossing largely closed; only opening it partially for humanitarian purposes. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS SOCIETY IMMIGRATION TPX IMAGES OF T

Gaza patients suffer as Egypt keeps Rafah crossing closed

A sick Gaza toddler died in his parents' arms while waiting for the Rafah crossing to open to get specialized medical treatment abroad.

A boy walks past a bullet-riddled wall inside a house where Palestinian Hamas militant Hamza Abu Alhija was killed in the West Bank refugee camp of Jenin March 22, 2014. Israeli forces shot and killed four Palestinians on Saturday during a raid on the home in the occupied West Bank to capture Alhija, a wanted Hamas Islamist militant, the Israeli military said. Hamas supporters carried three bodies through the streets of the West Bank city of Jenin, shouting slogans against Palestinian President Mahmoud Abba

Jenin and Nablus refugee camps: enclaves of fear

The dire economic situation, coupled with disappointment in the Palestinian Authority, have turned West Bank refugee camps into enclaves of violence, led by armed youths from various organizations.

Free Syrian Army fighters stand at a former base used by fighters from the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), after the ISIL withdrew from the town of Azaz, near the Syrian-Turkish border, March 11, 2014. Syrian refugees in this border outpost were delighted to hear their home town of Azaz had been liberated - not from Bashar al-Assad's troops but from al-Qaeda fighters who subjected them to a regime that included torture and public beheadings. For Syrians who three years ago rose up against 43 ye

ISIS emerges as threat to Turkey

Most Turks would prefer that Ankara step back from its current Syria policies and distance itself from any support for jihadist groups.

A Syrian Air Force fighter plane flies over the Syrian town of Ras al-Ain during an air strike, as seen from the Turkish border town of Ceylanpinar, Sanliurfa province November 13, 2012. A Syrian warplane struck homes in the town of Ras al-Ain on Tuesday within sight of the Turkish border, pursuing an aerial bombardment to force out rebels and drawing a new warning from Ankara. The second day of jet strikes sent Syrians scurrying through the flimsy barbed-wire fence that divides Ras al-Ain from the Turkish

Was shoot down of Syrian plane linked to Turkish elections?

Is it possible to disentangle the shooting down of a Syrian plane on March 23 from the Turkish local elections on March 30?