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Turkey

Turkey

July 31, 2026

Ankara 11:50 pm

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A demonstrator carries a CHP flag during a protest in Izmir, Turkey, on May 24, 2026.

Explainer

What’s behind Turkey’s latest wave of arrests against opposition mayors?

The operations come as Ozgur Ozel’s newly formed party gains momentum.

Latest News

Turkey, Pakistan among 14 countries backing Saudi Arabia's anti-Houthi Red Sea alliance

A Saudi navy ship is pictured docked at King Faisal navy base in Jeddah before the departure of a team to Port Sudan to help with the evacuation efforts of people fleeing Sudan, on April 29, 2023.

Turkey ready to participate in post-UNIFIL force in Lebanon, Erdogan tells Aoun

Erdogan and Aoun

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

Israel's armed forces Chief Lieutenant-General Gabi Ashkenazi (L) and Turkey's Chief of General Staff General Ilker Basbug pose prior to a meeting in Ankara March 15, 2010. Ashkenazi is in Turkey to attend the Global Terrorism and International Cooperation Symposium. REUTERS/Turkish Army Press Office/Handout (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY) FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - RTR2BOE7

Turkish-Israeli Military Ties Damaged by Ergenekon Trial

The Ergenekon trial has made it clear to the decision-makers in Jerusalem that the Turkish army will no longer be able to serve as a bridge between the two countries.

A Turkish flag flutters near the monument of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk at Taksim Square in Istanbul June 24, 2013. REUTERS/Marko Djurica (TURKEY - Tags: SOCIETY) - RTX10Z87

Who Poisoned Former Turkish President Ozal?

Political disputes between the Kemalist army and democratically elected political parties once were settled heavy-handedly, and a recent investigation into Turgut Ozal's death ruled that he was poisoned.

Gay rights activists carry a rainbow flag during a protest at Tunel Square in Istanbul June 23, 2013. REUTERS/Marko Djurica (TURKEY - Tags: CIVIL UNREST SOCIETY) - RTX10Y6V

Gay in the Turkish Army

One gay man's experience with the Turkish military highlights anew the need for legal protections for the rights of LGBT individuals in Turkey.

Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan gestures as he gives a speech during a meeting at his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) party headquarters in Ankara, on August 20, 2013. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused Israel on August 20 of being behind the military-backed ouster of Egypt's Islamist president Mohamed Morsi last month. AFP PHOTO / ADEM ALTAN (Photo credit should read ADEM ALTAN/AFP/Getty Images)

Erdogan’s Anti-Israel Remarks Reflect Broader Anti-Semitism in Turkey

While anti-Semitism has been present in Turkey since the 1930s, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's latest anti-Israel remarks bring Turkey's long-standing xenophobia out in the open.

Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan (L) checks his watch as he attends a wreath-laying ceremony with Chief of Staff General Necdet Ozel (R) at the mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, founder of modern Turkey, in Ankara August 1, 2013. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: MILITARY POLITICS) - RTX126WW

Erdogan’s Israel Remark Brings Condemnation, Ridicule

Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan accuses Israel of being behind the coup in Egypt, thus exposing himself again to criticism and ridicule.

Organization of Islamic Cooperation Secretary General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu speaks during the U.S.-Islamic World Forum in Doha June 9, 2013. REUTERS/Mohammed Dabbous (QATAR - Tags: RELIGION POLITICS) - RTX10HR0

AKP Blasts Turkish Leader Of International Islamic Group

Despite calls for his resignation by AKP officials, Organization of Islamic Cooperation Secretary-General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu decided to stay in office until his term expires in four months.

Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, secretary-general of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference (L) speaks with Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Secretary-General Abdul-Rahman al-Attiyah before a news conference in Riyadh March 28, 2011. Qatar's support for the rebel Libyan National Council shows the group is the only legitimate representative of the Libyan people, the secretary general of the political and economic bloc of Gulf countries said on Monday. REUTERS/Fahad Shadeed (SAUDI ARABIA - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR2K

Turkish Leader Lashes Out on Twitter

Turkey is engaged in a covert war with Riyadh over the Turkish origins of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation's chief.

Supporters of Egypt's deposed Islamist President Mohamed Mursi and the Muslim Brotherhood wave Egyptian flags during a rally in protest against the recent violence in Egypt, outside of the Eminonu New mosque in Istanbul August 17, 2013. REUTERS/Murad Sezer (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTX12P9I

Turkey Condemns Egypt's Coup

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's Justice and Development Party has strongly denounced Mohammed Morsi's ouster and subsequent attacks on Muslim Brotherhood supporters.

Tourists enjoy the hot weather at Vari beach, some 30 km (19 miles) southeast of Athens July 21, 2013. Foreign tourists are returning to Greece's sun-drenched islands and ancient temples, central bank data showed on Friday, boosting hopes that the key sector may help the crisis-hit country pull itself out of a severe economic recession. REUTERS/Yannis Behrakis (GREECE - Tags: ENVIRONMENT BUSINESS TRAVEL SOCIETY) - RTX11TYN

Keeping Sane During an Israeli Summer

For Israelis, traveling abroad equals a therapeutic exercise, leaving behind the habit of constantly listening to news casts and the burden of an ongoing existential stress.

Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah (L), Turkey's President Abdullah Gul (C) and Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa are seen after the official photo taking session of the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) summit in Mecca August 14, 2012. REUTERS/Hassan Ali (SAUDI ARABIA - Tags: POLITICS ROYALS) - RTR36UJ4

Saudi Arabia and Turkey Falter Over Egypt

Though Saudi Arabia and Turkey share strategic goals in the region, the Egyptian coup is testing the strength of the two countries' relations.

Syrian Kurds practise reading the Kurdish language at a school in Derik, Al-Hasakah October 31, 2012. Iraqi Kurdish President Masoud Barzani warned Kurds in Syria against being sucked into the "fires of discord," urging them to preserve Kurdish unity as tensions between rival factions threaten to spillover into violence. Syria's Kurds see the war ravaging their country as an unprecedented opportunity to gain the kind of freedoms enjoyed by their ethnic kin in neighbouring Iraq, where they live autonomously

Erdogan’s 'Now Or Never' Moment In Turkish-Kurdish Peace Process

Pressure is mounting on Turkey’s peace process, with such issues as teaching the Kurdish language in schools proving particularly important.

Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi (R) meets with Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan at the Presidential Palace in Cairo November 17, 2012. REUTERS/Egyptian Presidency/Handout (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS) 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 - RTR3AINS

Turkey’s 'Precious Isolation' In the Middle East

Foreign policy decisions by the Erdogan government, including on Egypt and Syria, have left Turkey without any influence over events in the Middle East.