Turkish prosecutors have detained four suspects as part of an embezzlement investigation linked to alleged irregularities in the accounts of a municipal company owned by the Etimesgut Municipality in Ankara, authorities said Monday.

In a statement, the Ankara West Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office said the investigation was launched after Türkiye’s Court of Accounts identified irregularities during its routine 2025 audits of the Republican People’s Party (CHP)-run Etimesgut Municipality.

The findings were related to the municipality’s soup kitchen, food procurement and distribution operations, as well as the accounts of Etimkent A.S., a company wholly owned by the municipality.

Prosecutors said detention orders were issued for four people, including Etimkent A.S. general manager, Etimesgut Municipality Social Assistance Affairs director, an employee who served as an accounting officer in the same department, and another person who was responsible for the company’s cash desk.

Simultaneous searches and seizure operations were carried out at the suspects’ homes and workplaces, and all four were taken into custody, the prosecutor’s office said.

Etimesgut Municipality said in a separate written statement that the case was not the result of a politically motivated operation against the municipality, but rather stemmed from an earlier internal inspection and criminal complaint filed by municipal authorities.

The municipality said one of the employees named in the investigation had already been suspended as part of its own administrative inquiry. It added that employee S.K. had been reported to prosecutors on Sept. 11, 2025, by both the municipality and its company in the capacity of complainants.

Municipal officials said they were closely monitoring the judicial process and would continue to share details with the public in a transparent manner.

Legal troubles are mounting for Türkiye’s main opposition CHP as a fresh wave of bribery and corruption investigations has led to the detention of another mayor and dozens of municipal officials.

Last week, operations targeting CHP municipalities in Uşak and Marmaris also resulted in the detention of 24 people, including Özkan Yalım and a deputy mayor in Marmaris, according to authorities. The detentions mark the latest development in a series of probes focusing on opposition-led local governments.

At least a dozen CHP mayors have been detained or arrested since last year, with several more facing ongoing corruption and bribery investigations or trials. High-profile cases include Istanbul’s suspended mayor, Ekrem Imamoğlu, and Antalya’s ousted mayor, Muhittin Böcek, whose cases have drawn national attention following their arrests late last year and trials that began earlier this month.

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Türkiye is so close yet so far from the U.S.-Israel-Iran war. As the government charts its way amid the conflict, the country managed to steer clear of the devastation it inflicted on the region. Surveys dating back to the first days of the conflict indicate people oppose the U.S. and Israel, though open support for Iran is not high as well. The majority of people prefer neutrality in the conflict or brokering peace between the sides.

The country improved its ties with the U.S. under the Trump administration, while relations with Iran have been mostly smooth at the political level. Israel, however, turned into a fierce enemy for Türkiye as the genocide of Palestinians in Gaza unfolded. As a matter of fact, it may be the only country unanimously opposed by the government and the opposition, mostly due to its genocidal acts. Beyond politics, the nation appears united in its opposition to the Netanyahu administration, as enormous pro-Palestinian rallies over the past few years have demonstrated.

It is almost impossible for Türkiye, which sits on the crossroads of Europe and Asia and in the powder keg known as the Middle East, to pursue a neutral stance. Yet, the government is intent on achieving just this through the “peace diplomacy” it conducts. These diplomatic efforts are portrayed as standing on the right side of history, that is, with the oppressed and the innocent. In his firmest remarks regarding the conflict, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan last Thursday made it clear that Türkiye opposed the ruthless killing of people “wherever they are.”

“Children dying at their desks at schools are our children. Tears of people in (Iran’s) Tabriz and Tehran are no different for us than the tears of people in Baghdad, Irbil, in Doha, Riyadh and other cities of our brothers and sisters,” he said. Erdoğan has also underlined that it was a war provoked by Israel, “a network of genocide employing so-called religious arguments to drive our region into a great catastrophe.”

A poll by the survey company Areda published within days of the beginning of the war showed that more than 94% of the participants were in the opinion that the U.S. and Israel had a justifiable excuse to attack Iran. Some 68.7% of the participants also said that the U.S. and Israel’s attacks would not change the regime in Iran, as Washington and Tel Aviv seemingly intended to do. Another survey by Asal, again held in the early days of the conflict, shows that more than 72% of people interviewed in Türkiye’s 26 provinces advocate a balanced role for Türkiye in the conflict and propose mediation of the war. The survey shows 16.2% of participants support Iran, while 4% of participants said Türkiye should support Israel in the conflict.

Polling company GENAR’s survey yielded similar results, with more than 35% of participants calling for neutrality in the war and another 32.8% of participants suggesting Türkiye’s mediation. Some 11.7% of the participants call for support to Iran, while a 2.7% suggest supporting the U.S. in the conflict.

The preference for mediation over direct involvement suggests that Türkiye is viewed as a peace broker rather than a participating actor in regional crises. This perception has been reinforced by Ankara’s previous mediation efforts in conflicts such as Russia-Ukraine, which raised Türkiye’s diplomatic profile.

The war, however, reignited a debate on Türkiye’s past stance on relations with Iran, mostly on sectarian lines. Although anti-American or anti-Israeli sentiment in the context of the war appears higher based on the social media posts, some social media users, including prominent journalists, were quick to point out Iran’s “past crimes” and their supposed “hatred” for Sunnis. Those portraying themselves as conservative Sunnis point out how Iran endorsed the Baathist regime in Syria in attacks on the Sunni opposition and say Türkiye should be cautious if it is going to openly support Iran. Others, especially those aligned with “ulusalcılar” (a self-styled nationalist group distinct from traditional nationalists such as government ally Nationalist Movement Party (MHP)), call for unconditional support to Iran. This camp, which has a pro-China, pro-Russian perspective rather than a religious, sectarian view of Iran, is in the minority, however. This sectarian divide was staunchly criticized by Erdoğan in his remarks last Thursday. “Being Sunni, Shiite, Turkish, Kurdish, Arab or Farsi does not matter for assailants who trampled all values and principles in the past 27 days,” he said. Erdoğan underlined that they may have different sects and roots, but Türkiye cannot discriminate between “brothers and neighbors” and turn a blind eye to their suffering. Elaborating more, Erdoğan stated that it was not right to reignite debates “of 1,000 years” ago and to “serve inciting strife,” referring to the Shiite and Sunni divide after the death of the Prophet Muhammad. He said that social media was rife with “psychological warfare,” but they were cautious against it and would not abandon “brotherly, friendly people in those days.”

The sectarian hostility toward Iran appears to be trumped by the anti-imperialist rhetoric of all ideological circles in Türkiye. Although Türkiye maintained good ties with the United States (and at one point, even with Israel), it opposes foreign designs on the regional countries, such as U.S. support of a terrorist group harming the territorial integrity of neighboring Syria. Israel’s expansionist policies, which carried the war to Lebanon and Syria, are also opposed, especially in light of the chain of events. Surveys on the U.S.-Israel-Iran war also highlight that people are inclined to consider Türkiye as the next target of Israel, something that was implied by Erdoğan and MHP leader Devlet Bahçeli, long before the start of the U.S.-Israel-Iran war.

Although Türkiye and Iran have been foes for centuries, they decided to end the fighting and draw their definitive borders in the 17th century. Their borders have been the most stable in a region where wars have led to the decline and division of ancient countries, and maps were redrawn in the 19th and 20th centuries. Hostilities in the Ottoman times were largely linked to Iranian influence in present-day Anatolia, especially among tribes closer to the Iranian palace than the Ottoman court in their shared faith. The Republic of Türkiye, which succeeded the Ottomans, sought to improve ties with modern-day Iran both at the time of the shah and after the 1979 revolution. Although it was a bumpy road, the two countries managed to respect each other’s interests for years. An anti-Iranian sentiment, however, dominated the politics in the 1990s, with several high-profile, “politically charged” murders linked to Iran by secular circles, which are now represented by the Republican People’s Party (CHP). But in the 1990s, the Welfare Party (RP), led by President Erdoğan’s political mentor Necmettin Erbakan, elevated ties with Iran to unprecedented levels. Erbakan, as prime minister, made his first visit abroad to Iran, to the chagrin of his opponents and was known for championing better relations with Türkiye’s eastern neighbor. Iran was part of Erbakan’s D-8 (Organization for Economic Cooperation), which aimed to strengthen economic partnership between Muslim countries, from Türkiye to Malaysia.

When the anti-regime protests began in Iran, online conversations in Türkiye were more supportive of them, although people advocated a peaceful change rather than an uprising openly instigated by the U.S. and Israel. After the first strikes on Tehran in February, however, the conversation entirely shifted to standing with Iran against imperialist designs. The CHP still defends the opposition to the “oppressive” Iranian regime, as its leader, Özgür Özel, said on Wednesday. But CHP members have recently been more vocal in opposition to the U.S. and Israel, with Özel saying that Trump and Netanyahu sought bloodshed in the region for their own political ambitions.

While political divisions persist on several domestic issues, the war has revealed a rare convergence around key principles such as avoiding direct confrontation, resisting external intervention and positioning Türkiye as a mediator.

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Interior Minister Mustafa Çiftçi, who took office in February, told journalists that Türkiye cannot afford to lose youth and children to criminal gangs.

“(The gangs) should surrender, and otherwise, we will continue cracking down on them,” Çiftçi said on Sunday at a meeting with journalists.

“I instructed the police and gendarmerie to continue operations. There will be more and more,” he said. Criminal gangs employing children have flourished in Türkiye in recent years. Gangs turn to disadvantaged youths and minors to carry out hits on rivals and extort businesses, especially in big cities, in a bid to avoid criminal liability, as minors are often handed down more lenient sentences compared to adult offenders.

Çiftçi said they also stepped up the fight against narcotics, citing a nationwide operation last week where 358 suspects were captured. “Drugs fuel other crimes, and counter-narcotics operations are multi-layered. Drugs lie at the foundation of many issues and crimes affecting society. It funds gangs and terrorism. Sadly, it targets our youth,” he said. “We are determined to drain it. Between Jan. 1 and March 22 alone, we seized more than 13 tons of drugs, and it shows our determination,” he said.

New job for night watchmen

The night watch department of the Turkish police department closed in 1991 as law enforcement sought to modernize itself. In 2017, they were reintroduced, with modernized uniforms and more patrols, especially in big cities. Çiftçi said they were now working to reform the force once again. He said the new regulations they planned would allow night watchmen to work during the day as well if the local governorates needed extra manpower for security on certain occasions. “Based on the needs, they will be allowed to work as patrols in predetermined locations in cities,” the minister said.

Border woes

Another issue Çiftçi commented on was the security of the Turkish-Iranian border as the U.S.-Israel-Iran war raged. The minister was at the Gürbulak border crossing last week to inspect the measures. In statements on Sunday, he assured that the borders had no extraordinary situation at the moment. “We have no problems on the border now, but we still took all necessary measures. We have no gaps in the security,” he highlighted.

Municipal corruption

On a question regarding investigations into municipalities whose mayors and bureaucrats are involved in corruption, Çiftçi denied any political bias. The main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) repeatedly claimed that the charges against its mayors were politically motivated.

Providing official figures regarding the cases, Çiftçi said 3,224 investigations were carried out by his ministry’s inspectors since the March 2024 election. “The ministry granted permission for investigation in 1,298 cases, and 591 among them are municipalities run by the AK Party,” he said, referring to the ruling Justice and Development Party. Çiftçi said 321 CHP municipalities were also investigated and that 102 other municipalities investigated by inspectors were run by the government ally Nationalist Movement Party (MHP).

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The main courthouse in the capital Ankara will handle closely-watched trials this week, including one that may change the fate of main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP).

Proceedings will continue Tuesday at the 34th High Criminal Court in Ankara in the second hearing of a case involving 14 defendants linked to alleged corruption at Ankara Metropolitan Municipality (ABB) run by the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP). The case stems from an investigation into allegations that concert expenditures by the municipality between 2021 and 2024 caused public losses. According to the prosecutor’s office, the case is based on findings from the Interior Ministry’s Civil Inspection Board, a Financial Crimes Investigation Board (MASAK) review, an audit by the Court of Accounts, and an expert report. Investigators determined that through 32 concert service procurements, the municipality suffered a financial loss exceeding TL 154.4 million ($5 million).

Ankara Mayor Mansur Yavaş previously faced criticism over what was described as excessive spending during Republic Day celebrations on Oct. 29, 2024, after media reports claimed the municipality paid TL 69 million for a concert by a popular singer.

Also on Tuesday, another case will be heard at the 2nd High Criminal Court in Ankara involving nine defendants accused of forming the Ankara branch of the Maydonoz Döner chain. The company had been appointed trustees by the Savings Deposit Insurance Fund (TMSF) over allegations it financed the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ).

At a previous hearing, the court ruled to release two detained defendants under judicial control measures, citing the state of evidence in the case. There are currently no defendants in pretrial detention.

Last year, authorities arrested hundreds of suspects in an investigation into the chain accused of raising money for FETÖ. The franchise gave illegitimate partnerships to people linked to FETÖ for a certain sum and refused to award shares to people not referred by the terrorist group, according to the authorities. Authorities have said earlier that all branches of the chain were used to create jobs for FETÖ-linked people and funnel funds to the group, including “himmet” rates. “Himmet” is the name FETÖ gave to donations to the group or cash obtained through extortion.

On April 1, proceedings will also continue at the 26th Criminal Court of First Instance in Ankara in a case involving 12 defendants, including suspended Ekrem İmamoğlu, the mayor of Istanbul for CHP. The case concerns allegations of irregularities at the CHP’s 38th Ordinary Congress, where the current chair, Özgür Özel, was elected. Özel’s associates in CHP are accused of launching a vote-buying scheme to secure his victory.

At a previous hearing, the court decided, in line with the prosecutor’s opinion, to seek the consolidation of the case with a separate trial in Istanbul concerning an alleged criminal organization formed for profit involving Imamoğlu. However, the 40th High Criminal Court in Istanbul rejected the request to merge the two cases.

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A key partner of NATO, Türkiye will host the leaders’ summit of the alliance for the second time in more than two decades. Heads of state and top figures from member countries will be in the capital Ankara for the summit scheduled to be held on July 7-8. Some 6,000 participants are expected to attend the event.

Preparations are underway in the Turkish capital for the event, where alliance leaders will likely discuss its future as conflicts proliferate across the world, forcing them to bolster defense expenditures.

A series of panels are being held in NATO member countries as preparation for the summit, with the first one held in Spain. In Ankara, authorities renovate Etimesgut military airport, which will be the main transport hub for guests. Airport’s runways are being expanded, the Sabah newspaper reported on Sunday, while a guest house will be constructed to accommodate delegations.

The presidential complex and a congress hall in the capital will be the main venues of the summit. A press center is being set up at the complex where heads of state will hold news conferences. The Presidency of Defense Industries will also host a defense forum on the margins of the summit, at the ATO Congressium hall.

Türkiye this year marks the 74th anniversary of its admission to NATO and boasts the second biggest army of the alliance. It is the only country in NATO’s “southern flank” with a sizeable military power and a gateway to the Middle East and wider Asia. Security of the Black Sea also largely depends on Türkiye, especially amid the Russia-Ukraine conflict which threatens maritime security.

In the last summit in The Hague last year, NATO members agreed to spend

Some 5% of their GDP in defense expenditures by 2035. Ankara will be the stage where the first progress reports on this massive investment drive are measured. A NATO report last week showed military spending rose by a fifth year-on-year in 2025 to $574 billion.

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly sought higher defense spending by the alliance’s 32 member states, pushing Europe to take primary responsibility for its own security. With the increase by NATO’s European members and Canada, all allies are now devoting more than 2% of gross domestic product to military spending, a goal set in 2014 for 2024, a NATO report said.

In presenting the report, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said he expected “Allies to show they are on a clear and credible path towards the five percent” when they hold their next summit in Ankara.

The headline target breaks down as 3.5% on core defense spending and 1.5% on a looser range of areas such as infrastructure and cybersecurity. Only three countries met the 3.5% goal last year, Poland, Latvia, and Lithuania.

All NATO countries increased their military spending last year, but three saw a slight drop in the share of spending relative to their GDP. The United States went from 3.30% in 2024 to 3.19%, the Czech Republic from 2.07% to 2.01%, and Hungary from 2.21% to 2.07%.

July’s summit will also be the venue for support to Ukraine where member countries will likely review and update their commitments to help the country.

For Türkiye, the summit will additionally serve as a platform to promote its flourishing defense industry. In the past two decades, the country evolved from a mere buyer of defense technologies to an exporter of everything defense related, from unmanned aerial vehicles to naval platforms, air defense technologies etc.

Türkiye seeks to expand its role in NATO as a power broker and the summit will cement it. It emerged as a key mediator in Russia-Ukraine conflict and nowadays work for a peaceful resolution to US-Israel-Iran war. Moreover, the country aims to integrate itself more to security architecture of Europe which makes the bulk of NATO member states. Recently, Ministry of National Defense has announced that Ankara applied for establishment of a multinational corps. Türkiye showcased this ambition when it joined alliance’s biggest exercise Steadfast Dart in February, dispatching 2,000 military personnel to the exercise in Germany, along with locally-made weapons systems.

Although it has started courting NATO’s traditional rivals more in recent years, Türkiye is firmly aligned with the alliance, as its leaders repeatedly confirmed. Türkiye’s membership is viewed as winning a reliable ally in NATO’s southern wing in terms of air, land and maritime defense.

Türkiye’s strategic location makes it the first defense against threats and risks in the region for NATO. In the Balkans, Türkiye is the top contributor to the alliance’s Kosovo Force (KFOR), which maintained command of the forces between 2023 and 2024. It currently holds deputy command of the force, while it was the top contributor to the reserve battalion in Kosovo to ensure the security of the Balkan country and the region.

It is also a top contributor in terms of personnel to NATO’s Iraq mission, which was founded in 2018 to provide consultancy and training to Iraqi security forces.

In NATO’s military exercises, Türkiye is a prominent actor. It also commands NATO’s permanent maritime task group and a task group against naval mines.

Türkiye also hosts critical NATO facilities, including Allied Land Command, which is located in the western city of Izmir, and Rapid Deployable Corps, which is based in Istanbul. In the capital, Ankara, it hosts the Centre of Excellence for Defence Against Terrorism (COE-DAT) and the Partnership for Peace Training Center. Istanbul hosts the NATO Maritime Security Centre of Excellence (MARSEC COE).

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Yılmaz Ateş, who served as deputy chair of main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) said the party which expelled him in 2019, was occupied by Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ). Ateş was one of the figures close to late Chair Deniz Baykal, who stepped down in 2010 after a sex tape of an extramarital affair surfaced. The scandal was the work of police officers linked to FETÖ, as subsequent investigation revealed years later.

Ateş told Tuba Kalçık of the Sabah newspaper in remarks published on Monday that FETÖ’s conspiracy was a turning point for CHP, which took a turn for the worse. “After Baykal left, the patriotic cadres of the party were expelled and those who remained were neutralized. Those who took over the party in 2010 trampled upon the values of CHP,” he said.

Baykal was succeeded by Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, who served 13 years as the party’s chair, before a disastrous election defeat in 2023 prompted an intraparty election. Kılıçdaroğlu was succeeded by incumbent Özgür Özel, who now faces a trial over allegations of vote-buying during the intraparty election to defeat Kılıçdaroğlu.

Ateş said he was aware of mounting threats against Baykal, noting that FETÖ was very influential back then. FETÖ, which posed as a charity movement with religious undertones, managed to infiltrate into state institutions over decades. In 2013, it openly declared war on the government by plotting two attempts to topple it under the guise of a graft probe launched by its infiltrators in the law enforcement and judiciary. In 2016, FETÖ used its infiltrators in the army and attempted to overthrow the government once again, only to fail due to a strong public resistance under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

Ateş told Sabah that at one point, he was worried that Baykal could share the fate of Muhsin Yazıcıoğlu, the late leader of the Greater Unity Party (BBP), who died in a helicopter crash in 2009, an accident largely viewed as a conspiracy by FETÖ to kill the nationalist politician. A trial is still underway over the alleged role of military officers and others in thwarting the rescue of Yazıcıoğlu after his helicopter crashed in a mountainous area in southern Türkiye. “I was worried that CHP’s plane would also be sabotaged,” he said.

He stated that CHP had a history of over a century and led the establishment of modern Türkiye. “It defended the democratic republic and this is why it faced harsh attacks,” he said. He portrayed the post-Baykal era in the party as a time of “return of those expelled from the party earlier for corruption.” “Some assigned to the party’s assembly, some people recruited as advisers turned out to have ties with FETÖ. This is unacceptable,” he said.

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