Turkish Cypriot Foreign Minister Tahsin Ertuğruloğlu dismissed reports that the Greek Cypriot administration is preparing a bid to join NATO, calling the idea unrealistic and saying neither Türkiye nor the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) would allow such a move to materialize.

Speaking to the Anadolu Agency (AA) on the sidelines of the International Strategic Communication Summit (STRATCOM) 2026, organized by Türkiye’s Communications Directorate in Istanbul, Ertuğruloğlu said the Greek Cypriot administration could “keep dreaming” about NATO membership, but added that Ankara was closely watching developments and that such an outcome was not possible.

He said the Turkish Cypriot side viewed the issue as part of a broader political effort by Greek Cyprus to shift regional balances in its favor, while ignoring the realities on the island and in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Ertuğruloğlu also underscored the importance of Türkiye’s support for the TRNC saying Turkish Cypriots remain secure thanks to Ankara’s political and military backing. He described Türkiye as the Turkish Cypriot side’s sole pillar of support and said the two sides act together on both political and security matters.

Asked about possible security risks for the island as tensions continue in the region amid the war involving the United States, Israel and Iran, Ertuğruloğlu said there was no likelihood of a military attack against Northern Cyprus as long as Türkiye’s security guarantee remained in place.

He said those who might consider such a move were well aware of the consequences, adding that the deployment of six Turkish F-16 fighter jets to Northern Cyprus was not without reason. He stressed that the security of Türkiye and the TRNC should be viewed as a whole.

Ertuğruloğlu said there was no hesitation over protecting the interests and security of the Turkish nation in the Eastern Mediterranean. He also praised Türkiye’s approach in the region, saying Ankara has pursued a rational policy centered on peace while also demonstrating that it is prepared to take stronger measures if necessary.

Responding to a question about whether military shipments sent to Greek side by Britain and some European Union countries could become permanent, Ertuğruloğlu said he did not believe that would happen.

He described such moves as part of what he called a political game aimed at reviving discussion of Greek Cyprus joining NATO, and said no country backing Greek Cyprus would be in a position to go to war with Türkiye.

Türkiye, over the past weeks, has deployed six F-16 fighter jets and air defense systems to the TRNC as part of a phased plan aimed at strengthening the territory’s security, the Turkish Defense Ministry announced.

The development came amid the rising tensions in the Middle East and growing military cooperation between the Greek Cypriot administration and its Western partners.

According to the Greek Cypriot and Greek media reports, two Greek frigates have recently arrived in waters controlled by the Greek Cypriot administration.

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The Communications Presidency’s Center for Countering Disinformation rejected claims that Türkiye would side with Iran in a U.S.-Israel-Iran war and make an incursion into Lebanon to that extent.

In a social media post on Monday, the center said rumors circulating on social media were “a product of disinformation.”

“Türkiye has stated from the beginning that it is not a party to the war. Under the leadership of our President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, intensive diplomatic efforts are being carried out to end the attacks as soon as possible, prevent the spread of the war, and establish a lasting peace. This stance of Türkiye is appreciated by all actors, especially the conflicting parties. Such disinformation posts are also a part of psychological warfare and aim to damage Türkiye’s image and overshadow its constructive role in the crisis. The public is strongly requested not to rely on groundless allegations and to only take into account the statements of official authorities,” the Center said.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan voiced Türkiye’s concerns about the war in talks with U.S. President Donald Trump earlier this month, highlighting that Ankara did not want to be a part of the conflict.

Erdoğan last Thursday hit back at those taking sides in the U.S.-Israel-Iran war and criticized those looking at the situation through a sectarian perspective.

“There is no difference between bloodshed in Iran, (in Gulf countries), Lebanon. Everyone mercilessly slaughtered is our brothers and sisters. For attackers, there is no difference between Shiite and Sunni. We don’t discriminate between our neighbors, brothers; we stand by our brothers for the good and bad,” he said at a speech at an event organized by his Justice and Development Party (AK Party) in Ankara.

“It is not right to incite the (sectarian) divide, not right to serve the Zionist agenda of dividing and conquering,” he added.

“With Israel’s provocations on Feb. 28, the operations initiated against Iran continue to drown our region in blood and the smell of gunpowder. Children who know nothing are becoming targets of bombs while listening to lessons in their schools. Our region is experiencing the most difficult period of the last century. The network of genocide is dragging our geography into a great dead end. Those mercilessly killed are our brothers. The children dying at school desks are our offspring. What is the difference between the tears shed in Isfahan, Tabriz and Tehran and those shed in Beirut, Doha, and Riyadh? What difference does it make to the massacre network if our name is Ali, Murtaza or Omer? Whether in Iran or the Gulf, are we not the ones harmed by every missile fired? Even if our sects and origins are different, is it not our blood flowing in all four corners of our geography? Let everyone be sure of this: We neither discriminate between our brothers and neighbors nor do we remain spectators to the pain of our brothers. We do not leave the brotherly and friendly nations we know in good times alone in their bad days. The heavy bill that has emerged is being paid first by Muslims and then by everyone,” he said.

Türkiye maintains close ties with all sides of the conflict except Israel. “The brotherly Turkish nation played an important role in solidarity with the Muslim ummah for years. We will continue this honorable path together, with divine blessings,” Neighboring Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian said in a tweet last Wednesday.

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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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Ankara Mayor Mansur Yavaş, who was once touted as the future vice president of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), will soon face charges for astronomical spending on public concerts as details of an investigation disclose. The details, published by the Sabah newspaper on Monday, show Yavaş was aware of the scandal and approved it.

Experts uncovered a trove of evidence including WhatsApp correspondence between suspects and documents pointing out to irregularities. H.A.B., head of municipality’s subsidiary in charge of culture and social works, was among the suspects detained as part of the probe. The correspondence between H.A.B. and organizers of the events, are among the evidence.

Before any tender decision, official announcement or planning was in place, artist fees and budgets were determined through messaging, records show. The content of the correspondence bolsters allegations that tender processes were shaped before formal procedures began. An expert report noted that each inflated payment was made with Yavaş’ knowledge and approval.

According to findings in the investigation file, 32 concerts organized by the Yavaş administration between 2021 and 2024 resulted in a total public loss of TL 154,453,000 ($3.47 million). Tenders allegedly tailored to specific parties under justifications such as “single source,” “special authorization” and “direct procurement” were recorded as one of the largest organization-related scandals in municipal history. The messages between H.A.B. and organizers suggest that a kind of “exchange” was set up for concerts that had not yet even gone to tender. The expert report states that company owners sending price lists to municipal bureaucrats for projects that had not yet been approved constitutes clear evidence of bid rigging.

One of the major pieces of evidence in the investigation file is a message dated July 7, 2023. In it, H.A.B. tells organizer S.Ç.: “OK, Y. and D. (artists) – I’ll tell the mayor tomorrow at the breakfast event.” The subsequent admission was cited as evidence that the matter was presented directly for Yavaş’s approval.

According to the expert report, Yavaş personally attended the breakfast event on July 8, 2023, one day after the exchange. “This unequivocally demonstrates that Yavaş was aware of every stage of these high-priced concert tenders in the finest detail and that every payment was made with his direct approval,” the report states.

In another exchange dated Sept. 8, 2022, H.A.B. instructs an individual who worked on Yavaş’s election campaign to “lock in the deal.”

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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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