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Turkey

Turkey

July 29, 2026

Ankara 6:18 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

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyib Erdogan`s wife Emine Erdogan (L), Recep Tayyip Erdogan (2nd L), Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew (C), Armenian Orthodox Archbishop Aram Atesyan (2nd R), and Chief Rabbi Ishak Haleva (R) take their places during a dinner on August 28, 2011, at the Archeology Museum Garden in Istanbul. Erdogan hosted religious leaders and the heads of about 160 minority trusts at a fast-breaking dinner for Ramadan. AFP PHOTO/BULENT KILIC (Photo credit should read BULENT KILIC/AFP/Getty Imag

Turkey’s Armenians in crisis over patriarch

A rift over the spiritual leadership of Turkey’s Armenian community exposes the Turkish state’s political machinations in dealing with this minority.

Supporters of Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan react as he addresses the audience during a meeting at the Turkish parliament in Ankara February 25, 2014. Erdogan said on Tuesday voice recordings purportedly of him telling his son to dispose of large sums of money on the day news broke of a graft inquiry were a "treacherous attack" on his office. In a speech to his ruling AK Party deputies in parliament, Erdogan also said the recordings, which appeared on YouTube late on Monday, were a "shameless monta

Erdogan enraged

The corruption probe and alleged phone leaks between Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his advisers raise grave concerns about Turkey’s political direction.

A demonstrator hold pictures of Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan and Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen (R), during a protest against Turkey's ruling AK Party (AKP), demanding the resignation of Erdogan, in Istanbul December 30, 2013. Erdogan swore on Sunday he would survive a corruption crisis circling his cabinet, saying those seeking his overthrow would fail just like mass anti-government protests last summer. Gulen denies involvement in stirring up the graft case, but he regularly censures Erdogan, a

Another sensational scandal rocks Turkey

Pro-government dailies are reporting a massive wiretapping scandal.

The peril of escalation in Syria

Edward Dark writes that Aleppans will pay the price for any escalation in the war; the UN Security Council votes for humanitarian assistance and calls for greater cooperation to confront al-Qaeda in Syria; 16 female journalists cover the Middle East; and exorcism in the Gaza Strip.

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 February 18, 2014. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTX1915M

Turkey's elections likely to increase political turmoil

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan plans to keep the heat on his political opponents heading into the March 30 local elections.

Shi'ite Muslim cleric Moqtada al-Sadr speaks in Najaf, 160 km (99 miles) south of Baghdad, February 18, 2014. Sadr stuck to his decision to leave political life and dissolve his movement, saying that politics had become a way to inflict injustice. Sadr, who led revolts against U.S. forces in Iraq before their pullout and became a major influence in the government, initially announced his retirement on Saturday via a handwritten statement on his website. REUTERS/Handout/Office of Moqtada al-Sadr (IRAQ - Tag

Is Muqtada al-Sadr retiring or repositioning?

After Iraqi Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr declared his intention to withdraw from politics, signs suggest that it may have been a move aimed at political repositioning before the upcoming elections.

Free Syrian Army fighters sit as a fellow fighter holds an RPG along a street in Deir al-Zor, eastern Syria February 19, 2014. Picture taken February 19, 2014. REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) CONFLICT) - RTX1964P

Military escalation will add to Syrian catastrophe

The remilitarization of the Syrian conflict as sophisticated weapons are sent to opposition forces means more violence, including the return of fighting to areas that have achieved cease-fires.

Members of Islamist Syrian rebel group Jabhat al-Nusra carry their weapons as they move towards their positions near Aleppo international airport which is controlled by forces loyal to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad January 28, 2014. Picture taken January 28, 2014. REUTERS/Ammar Abdullah (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT) - RTX17ZNO

Al-Qaeda-linked group exploits ISIS decline in Aleppo

A recent field study in Aleppo finds Jabhat Al-Nusra and other "Islamic brigades" have benefited from the brutal tactics and unpopularity of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS).

Palestinian Hamas militants march during a training exercise in Gaza February 17, 2014. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTX18ZRL

Hamas sinks in polls after cutting salaries to public servants

Hamas' popularity has fallen behind Fatah in the Gaza Strip, according to recent polls, as frustration mounts over its handling of the territory's economic crisis.

Turkish Alawite women pray in a tomb, a holy site to the Alawite community, in the Samandag district of Hatay province, close to the border with Syria, July 27, 2012. An influx of Syrians fleeing President Bashar al-Assad's military onslaught is stoking tension in the area of Turkey known for religious tolerance and setting Turks who share the Syrian leader's creed against their own government. In the Turkish frontier province of Hatay, home to the Antioch of the Bible and a mix of confessional groups rare

Syria war sparks Turkish Alawite anxiety

The Syrian war has led Turkey’s Arab Alawites to embrace their Alawite and Arab identity.

Displaced Somalis queue for food at a centre run by a Turkish aid agency in the Howlwadaag district of southern Mogadishu, January 22, 2012. From Turkey to Brazil, India to Saudi Arabia, a growing number of non-Western donors are bringing fresh funds, a different mindset and their own experience of managing natural disasters to the global humanitarian aid scene. Picture taken January 22, 2012. To match Feature DISASTERS-NEWDONORS/ REUTERS/Feisal Omar (SOMALIA - Tags: SOCIETY POVERTY) - RTR2WVRE

'Cash box’ crops up in Turkey’s Africa opening

The revelation that official Turkish aid to Somalia was delivered in boxes full of cash has raised questions about Turkey’s Africa policies.

A tanker sails in Mediterranean past a jetty at the Ceyhan crude oil terminal near Turkey's southern coastal city of Adana, July 13, 2006. A four-billion dollar project, Baku-Tblisi-Ceyhan crude oil pipeline, to carry oil from the Caspian Sea fields to western markets is inaugurated on Thursday in Ceyhan, southern Turkey. REUTERS/Fatih Saribas (TURKEY) - RTR1FGD4

Turkey defers to Baghdad on oil from Iraqi Kurdistan

Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani has been conducting shuttle diplomacy between Baghdad and Ankara to facilitate an agreement.