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Turkey

July 30, 2026

Ankara 2:19 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

A Palestinian girl stands outside her torched house next to graffiti spray-painted on an outside wall of the home, in the West Bank village of Sinjil, near Ramallah November 14, 2013. Israeli settlers set fire to a Palestinian house on Thursday, leaving behind a message saying they were avenging the death of Eden Attias, an Israeli soldier killed by a Palestinian the previous day, residents said. The graffiti reads "Regards to Eden, Revenge!." REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman (WEST BANK - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNRES

Despite despair, no signs of third Palestinian intifada

The youth of the West Bank are tired of occupation, economic crisis and corruption, but with no charismatic leadership, they do not envisage a third intifada.

Demonstrators hold Kurdish flags and flags with portraits of the jailed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Ocalan during a gathering to celebrate Newroz in the southeastern Turkish city of Diyarbakir March 21, 2013. Ocalan ordered his fighters on Thursday to cease fire and withdraw from Turkish soil as a step to ending a conflict that has killed 40,000 people, riven the country and battered its economy. Hundreds of thousands of Kurds, gathered in the regional centre of Diyarbakir, cheered and wav

Diyarbakir is ready for the historic visit

Diyarbakir is ready for the visits of Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government President Massoud Barzani and Kurdish singer in exile Shivan Perwer, upon Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s invitation.

Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan addresses the media in Ankara November 13, 2013. Erdogan said on Wednesday work on the Trans-Anatolian natural gas pipeline project (TANAP), which will carry Azeri natural gas, will begin in early 2014. Turkey, which has a 20 percent stake in TANAP, and Azerbaijan, which controls 80 percent, are looking at ways to cooperate on shipping Azeri gas to the Balkans, Erdogan also said after talks with Azeri President Ilham Aliyev in Ankara. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags

Is Turkey experiencing the autumn of the patriarch?

The Justice and Development Party's well-nurtured image as a unified political force is taking hits.

A riot policeman uses a mobile phone to film protesters at Taksim Square in Istanbul June 22, 2013. Turkish riot police fired water cannon to clear thousands of protesters from Istanbul's Taksim Square on Saturday, the first such confrontation there in nearly a week. REUTERS/Marko Djurica (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTX10X89

AKP’s social media wars

Has the Justice and Development Party (AKP) enlisted “social raiders” to take on its critics in the social media?

Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan (R) speaks as Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev listens during a news conference following a signing ceremony in Istanbul June 26, 2012. Turkey and Azerbaijan signed an inter-governmental agreement on Tuesday on the $7 billion Trans-Anatolian natural gas pipeline project (TANAP), planned to carry Azeri natural gas across Turkey to Europe. Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan and Azeri President Ilham Aliyev signed the deal at an Istanbul ceremony to launch a project

Turkey’s restart in regional and foreign energy policies

Ankara is recasting its policies toward Cyprus, Israel, Azerbaijan and Iraq.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu addresses the media during a joint news conference with Iraq's Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari at the Foreign Ministry headquarters in Baghdad, November 10, 2013. REUTERS/Thaier Al-Sudani (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX157TO

Turkey charts new course in Iraq

Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu's recent visit to Baghdad, Najaf and Karbala is the latest sign of a new, dual-track policy on Iraq that is endorsed by the United States.

Iranians embrace foreign cuisine

Foreign restaurants in Tehran are thriving despite international sanctions.

Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu (R) shakes hands with his Iraqi counterpart Hoshiyar Zebari after a news conference in Ankara October 25, 2013. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX14NP6

Turkey returns to balance in Baghdad, KRG ties

Turkey is flirting with Baghdad while dancing with Erbil.

A Syrian Alawite refugee woman sits with her children in a tent at the courtyard of Pirsultan Abdal Cemevi in Istanbul October 11, 2013. As Syria's conflict takes on an increasingly sectarian dimension, a growing number of those fleeing to Turkey are shunning the refugee camps on its southern border and venturing instead to its major cities, as far from the war as possible. Picture taken October 11, 2013. REUTERS/Murad Sezer (TURKEY - Tags: SOCIETY IMMIGRATION POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT) - RTX14L6X

Syrian Alawites hope for change in Turkey

Syrian Alawite refugees face discrimination and hardship in Turkey.

People with the national flags visit Anitkabir, mausoleum of the founder of secular Turkey Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, in central Ankara October 29, 2013. Thousands of people gathered for a march in the Turkish capital of Ankara on Tuesday to mark the 90th anniversary of the Republic Day. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS ANNIVERSARY) - RTX14SLN

Turks visit Ataturk’s mausoleum in record numbers

More than a million Turks visited Anitkabir on Nov. 10, marking the 75th anniversary of the death of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founding father of modern-day Turkey, in protest of the current Islamist-based government.

An Ethiopian worker argues with a member of the Saudi security forces as he waits with his countrymen to be repatriated in Manfouha, southern Riyadh, November 11, 2013. Thousands of mostly African workers gathered in Riyadh on Sunday seeking repatriation after two people were killed in overnight rioting that followed a visa crackdown by Saudi authorities. One of those killed was a Saudi, said a government statement, and the other was not identified. An Ethiopian man was killed in a visa raid last week. Ethi

Saudi Arabia cracks down on illegal immigrants

The latest crackdown raises larger questions about the role of foreign labor in Saudi Arabia.

Iraqi Shi'ite radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr (L) attends a joint news conference with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu (R) during his visit to Najaf, 160km (100 miles) south of Baghdad, November 11, 2013. REUTERS/Alaa Al-Marjani (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX1597Z

Turkey's approach toward Iraq's Shiites will reduce sectarianism

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has visited the holy Shiite cities of Najaf and Karbala, as Ankara shifts its approach toward Iraqi Shiites.