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Turkey

Turkey

July 29, 2026

Ankara 12:19 pm

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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan greets Iraq Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi upon his arrival in Ankara, July 28, 2026.

Explainer

Erdogan hosts Zaidi, touts ‘historic step’ in Turkey-Iraq energy ties

The Turkish president outlined Ankara’s priorities with the new Iraqi government during the Iraqi leader’s first visit to Turkey: security, energy cooperation and the Development Road.

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi speaks during a meeting with US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth (not pictured) at the Pentagon on July 14, 2026 in Arlington, Virginia.

Zaidi to meet Erdogan as Turkey-Iraq ties take off, Kurds feel sidelined

The Iraqi prime minister's visits to Ankara and Riyadh underscore Baghdad's push to deepen regional ties as Turkey seeks closer cooperation on energy and security.

Latest News

Analysis

Iran war puts Turkey’s inflation fight, lira under fresh pressure

Vendors sell dry food as people shop by a banner reading " No to Inflation" near the New Mosque area in Istanbul's Eminonu district on Nov. 6, 2018.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Analysis

What challenges await Erdogan’s new rival and Turkey’s new opposition party?

Ozgur Ozel

Halil Karaveli

By Halil Karaveli

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

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?

Supporters of Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan light flares during an election rally in Istanbul March 23, 2014. Erdogan, rallying hundreds of thousands of cheering supporters in Istanbul, said on Sunday that political enemies accusing him of corruption would be crushed by their own immorality. REUTERS/Murad Sezer (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS) - RTR3I986

Turkey shoots down Syrian plane as elections heat up

Turkey's political opposition warns Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan that "a thief cannot be a hero."

Fatwa emerges in Turkish corruption allegations

What is the role of political Islam in the allegations of corruption against the government of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan?

Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu (R) meets with Ukraine's interim President Oleksander Turchinov in Kiev March 1, 2014. REUTERS/Anastasia Sirotkina/Pool (UKRAINE - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3FUS8

Turkey faces 'geography’s revenge' in Crimea

Turkey’s strategic environment has become even more complicated following the Russian annexation of Crimea.

The war on Twitter, the blowback from Ukraine

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan follows through on his threat to shut down Twitter, as Saudi Arabia and Qatar also crack down on social media; US-Russia collaboration on Syria and Iran is so far holding on, despite tensions over Ukraine.

Erdogan’s great patriotic war

A recent video produced by the Justice and Development Party reveals an intense nationalistic vibe.