Analysis
Smart, independent reporting on Turkey's politics, economy and foreign affairs.
Turkey once again requested the extradition of hundreds of people from the Netherlands, as the Dutch Justice and Security Minister David van Weel expressed hope that Turkey could play a mediating role in the war between the U.S., Israel, and Iran.
As Turkey steps up mediation efforts to halt the war against Iran, it is seeking to avoid holding the United States directly responsible.
The central bank spent approximately $23.5 billion in foreign exchange interventions during the first two weeks of the Iran war to defend the Turkish lira.
The war that erupted on Feb. 28, between Iran, the U.S. and Israel has sparked deep global uncertainty, as Iran targets U.S. bases and strategic energy infrastructure across the Gulf.
The war on Iran has once again revealed the confusing complexities of Turkey’s geostrategic positioning as a middle power between Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.
Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar denied media reports that Iran stopped natural gas exports to Turkey following an Israeli military strike on the South Pars gas field on March 18.
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.
In a historic development for Turkish-American relations, the long-standing legal battle over Iran sanctions involving the Turkish state lender Halkbank has been settled. The U.S. government said the result will curb support for Iran.
In response to the reinforcement of defense in Southern Cyprus by Greece and some European countries due to the Iran conflict, Turkey deployed F-16 fighter jets and additional air defense systems to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) for the first time in 28 years.
Iran destroyed U.S. long-range radar installations in Qatar and Jordan on Feb. 28 and March 7, increasing the importance of the Kürecik AN/TPY-2 radar station in Malatya province. Like the Adana İncirlik Air Base, NATO has placed the Malatya Kürecik Radar Station under the protection of its Patriot air defense system, another possible target for ballistic missiles launched from Iran.
NATO announced that its assets shot down two ballistic missiles aimed at Turkey in a week, but Iran denied that they had targeted Turkey. Since the Defense Ministry and NATO did not provide information on which region of Iran the ballistic missiles were launched from, the route taken by the missiles and their target became a matter of debate.
The central bank may pause its easing cycle at the March 12 meeting amid growing uncertainty caused by the U.S. attack on Iran.