Recep Tayyip Erdoğan

September 7, 2026 | Hussain Abdul-Hussain |

The New Islamic Empire: Will Turkey Inherit Iran’s Mantle?

Despite being 1,000 miles apart and in different time zones, Turkey and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) maintain a military partnership that operates in direct violation of a standing UN arms embargo....

September 2, 2026 | Sinan Ciddi |

Ankara Is Baiting Israel, Not the Reverse

Turkey invokes a Syrian sovereignty it spent a decade dismantling. Washington should not buy it.

August 26, 2026 | Sinan Ciddi, Ahmad Sharawi

5 Things To Know About Turkey’s Relationship with Syria

Turkey has emerged as one of the leading patrons of Syria’s new government under President Ahmad al-Sharaa, following the December 2024 fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime. Ankara had built ties with...

August 26, 2026 | Andrea Stricker, Ahmad Sharawi

Turning a Page on Syria’s Proliferation Past

“We are now turning a page … Turning a page does not mean forgetting the past; it means just the opposite — which is confronting it, confronting it with eyes wide open,” declared Rafael...

August 24, 2026 | Mark Dubowitz |

Denied Syrian Foothold, Turkey Could Harass Israel at Sea

As Israel moves to prevent Turkish military encroachment in neighboring Syria, officials are bracing for Ankara to shift pressure to the eastern Mediterranean. Turkey remains a member of NATO, and such...

August 20, 2026 | Mark Dubowitz, Steven A. Cook, Jonathan Schanzer

After Iran: Is Erdogan’s Turkey the Middle East’s Next Great Threat?

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August 20, 2026 | Sinan Ciddi |

Ankara occupies Syria and then lectures Israel about sovereignty

A NATO member that refuses to designate Hamas, hosts its leadership does not get to lecture a state which has legitimate terrorism concerns.

August 11, 2026 | Sinan Ciddi, Ahmad Sharawi

The Mecca Defense Pact Looks Toothless. That Doesn’t Mean It’s Harmless.

The emerging Saudi-Turkey-Pakistan alliance threatens to trigger regional realignment.

August 5, 2026 | Sinan Ciddi, Bridget Toomey

Erdogan’s Iraq play: A bigger game than oil

There is an easy way to read Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s decision to host Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al Zaidi in Ankara on July 28, and to call the visit “historic”: as an energy...

July 29, 2026 | Sinan Ciddi |

Erdogan’s rivalry with Israel has a new front: Africa

The answer becomes clearer once the South African relationship is placed inside Turkey’s broader African buildup, which has been running for two decades and has little to do with Israel at all.

July 27, 2026 | Sinan Ciddi, Tyler Stapleton

US Treasury sanctions Turkish Hamas financiers as Erdogan presses for F-35s

On July 23, the US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated a Turkey-based Hamas money exchange alongside a senior Muslim Brotherhood official. Treasury said...

July 27, 2026 | Sinan Ciddi, Ahmad Sharawi

Turkey’s Cautious Bid for Regional Power

The difference in how Turkey treats Greece and Israel illustrates its diplomatic and military strategy.

July 23, 2026 | Tyler Stapleton, Sinan Ciddi

China Is Helping Erdogan Build a Surveillance State

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is no stranger to the machinery of repression. He has throttled internet providers, monitored political opponents, and folded once-independent media into a loyalist...

July 17, 2026 | Sinan Ciddi, Jack Burnham

Ankara’s Charm Offensive Should Not Buy Back the F-35

The choreography in Ankara last week was impressive, even by Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s standards. Cannons fired, mounted honor guards paraded, and jets flew overhead trailing red, white, and blue smoke...

July 14, 2026 | Hussain Abdul-Hussain |

Erdogan Dreams of Annexing Arab Countries, Reviving the Turkish Empire

The prospect of a revived Turkish empire poses a new threat to Arab sovereignty.

July 10, 2026 | Sinan Ciddi, Tyler Stapleton

Selling the S-400 to Qatar or the UAE Solves Turkey’s Problem, Not Washington’s

Turkey’s decade-long standoff with Washington over the S-400 may finally be nearing an inflection point, though not in the tidy way Ankara once imagined, and not without a fresh dose of frustration...

July 9, 2026 | Sinan Ciddi |

Turkey’s Cooperation with Russia and China Is a Major Reason It Shouldn’t Receive the F-35 Jet

President Trump departed the NATO Summit in Ankara without announcing Turkey’s reinstatement in the F-35 program, a major disappointment to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. This omission...

July 9, 2026 | Seth J. Frantzman |

US moves to rescind Syria’s designation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism

US President Donald Trump “informed Congress of his administration’s intent to rescind Syria’s designation as a State Sponsor of Terrorism (SST),” the US State Department announced on...

July 6, 2026 | Sinan Ciddi, Jonathan Schanzer

Don’t Launder Erdogan’s Record at the NATO Summit

The NATO summit convening in Ankara next week will offer Turkish strongman Recep Tayyip Erdogan an opportunity to present himself as a vital ally: one with a military capable of blunting Russian aggression,...

June 30, 2026 | Cameron McMillan, Bradley Bowman, Sinan Ciddi

Russia, Hamas, and China: Three reasons Turkey shouldn’t get the F-35

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan appears eager to impress Washington and Brussels at the upcoming NATO summit in Turkey, with Ankara undertaking robust preparations and Turkish officials trumpeting Erdogan’s...