Analysis
Smart, independent reporting on Turkey's politics, economy and foreign affairs.
The US Ambassador to Turkey and Special Envoy for Syria Tom Barrack is under attack in Turkey and the United States for saying Middle East countries require “strong leadership.”
Turkey launched offshore oil and gas exploration off the eastern coast of Africa, deploying a 7th-generation ultra-deepwater drillship. Simultaneously, Turkish F-16 fighter jets, T-129 attack helicopters, and AS-532 Cougar utility helicopters, and the aircraft performed ceremonial flyovers across Mogadishu.
The breaking news pointed to an ISIS attack on Israel’s Istanbul Consulate on April 7, but the circumstances surrounding the attack remain hazy.
“The plot of the terror act is amateurish, the implementation is professional,” a terrorism expert told me about the attack that took place in Istanbul on April 7.
The Middle East is no longer simmering — it is boiling over. The genocide being carried out in Gaza, the attacks on the West Bank, the incursion into Syria, and the devastating assault on Lebanon have cemented one uncomfortable truth that much of the world is now willing to state openly: Israel has become the primary driver of instability in the region.
While Iran is extensively using kamikaze UAVs in its attacks in the conflict with Israeli and US forces, STM (Defense Technologies Engineering and Trade Inc.), announced that it had conducted the first test flight of its new long-range kamikaze UAV.
The deal to resolve the case over allegations that Halkbank helped Iran evade American sanctions was announced on March 9, at the height of U.S.-Israeli attacks against Iran.
The central bank may pause its easing cycle at the March 12 meeting amid growing uncertainty caused by the U.S. attack on Iran.
Tanıl Bora, who quietly reads, translates, and writes books, suddenly became a target last week after Özgür Özel and Ekrem İmamoğlu announced that they were reading his book “Cereyanlar” (Currents of Thought).
Turkey is seeking to position itself as a mediator between the United States and Iran as threats of attacks rise and diplomatic engagement intensifies, with the Turkish foreign minister set to host his Iranian counterpart in Istanbul on Jan. 30.
Ukrainian naval drones struck two ships alleged to be part of Russia’s “shadow fleet” in the Black Sea off the Turkish coast, increasing tension in the shared sea even as the combatants pursue renewed peace talks. The Sea Baby drones hit the oil tankers MT Kairos and MT Virat on Nov. 28. Russia has used hundreds of tankers known as the “shadow fleet” to evade Western sanctions imposed after its invasion of Ukraine, delivering millions of barrels of oil to buyers in breach of those restrictions.
Inconsistencies continue to emerge in the Istanbul Municipality indictment, fuelling CHP attacks on the charge sheet and the notification to the Court of Cassation that there may be grounds to close the main opposition party.