Türkiye on Thursday “strongly” condemned a deadly attack in Syria’s capital that health authorities said killed at least nine people.

“We strongly condemn the attack carried out today (July 2) in the Hijaz area of Syria’s capital, Damascus, which caused fatalities,” the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The explosion near the main courthouse complex left 20 others wounded, Syria’s Health Ministry said, as reported by state-run Al-Ikhbariya network.

The blast was caused by an explosive device planted inside a cafe near the Justice Palace​​​​, Al-Ikhbariya said. Four people were first announced to have been killed.

No group immediately claimed responsibility. Security forces rushed to the cafe and cordoned off the area as they investigate the attack.

Türkiye extended its condolences to the families of those killed and the Syrian people, and wished a speedy recovery to the wounded.

The Foreign Ministry said Türkiye remains confident that “the best response to such attempts, which aim to undermine the progress made toward establishing sustainable stability and security in Syria and to disrupt social peace, will once again be given by the Syrian people by preserving their unity and solidarity.”

“Türkiye will continue to stand in solidarity with Syria throughout this process,” it added.

Syria’s Interior Ministry is set to announce its initial findings soon, said Damascus Gov. Maher Idlibi.

Idlibi said the device appeared “primitive” and vowed that the perpetrators will be held to account.

A video circulating on social media showed several wounded people lying on the ground, with police officers nearby. Ambulances later rushed to the scene treating people on site and taking the more severely wounded to hospitals in the Syrian capital. The cafe was frequented by lawyers who worked in the neighborhood.

Jalal Aljanani, who owns a restaurant next door, ran toward the cafe when he heard the explosion and was horrified by the sight of the bodies on the floor.

“We carried the victims to the cars until the traffic police arrived,” he told The Associated Press (AP), his shirt covered in blood. “Many of them had suffered severe impact injuries, and almost all of them were bleeding.”

Since ousting longtime dictator Bashar Assad in December 2024, Syria’s new authorities have sought to thwart attacks by terrorist groups in and around the capital.

President Ahmad al-Sharaa has vowed to protect Syrians of all backgrounds, especially religious and ethnic minorities.

Al-Sharaa has reasserted the government’s full authority across the vast majority of the country.

Security agencies frequently announce that they have raided Daesh cells and thwarted attacks reportedly targeting minorities and busy commercial areas.

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U.S. Ambassador to NATO Matthew Whitaker said Türkiye’s defense industry should serve as a model for allied countries ahead of next week’s NATO summit in Ankara.

Speaking to Fox News on Thursday, Whitaker praised Türkiye’s defense production capacity, saying NATO allies should learn from Ankara’s industrial base.

“We need all of our allies to be more like Türkiye,” Whitaker said. “For example, having an industrial base that can produce 50 ships at the same time. Türkiye is doing exactly that right now in its shipyards.”

Whitaker said he visited Türkiye about a month ago, traveling to Izmir, Istanbul, Ankara and Incirlik Air Base in Adana to review preparations for the summit.

Describing Türkiye as an “incredibly capable ally,” Whitaker said Ankara is “seriously committed to the NATO alliance, as well as to its own security and the security of its allies.”

“That is why we must continue to strengthen this relationship,” he added.

In a separate interview with Newsmax, Whitaker also warned allies ahead of the NATO summit that they would receive their first assessment since pledging to allocate 5% of their gross domestic product to defense.

“Allies will receive their first report cards since making the 5% commitment,” Whitaker said, adding that the U.S. would lead by example with a $1.5 trillion defense budget for 2027, placing it “well above” that target.

“Under President Donald Trump’s leadership, we expect allies to take responsibility, follow our example and ultimately assume their own conventional defense,” he said.

Whitaker said European countries must take on responsibility for the conventional defense of continental Europe.

NATO member states pledged, at Trump’s request, to allocate 5% of their GDP to defense spending. The final declaration of the NATO summit held in The Hague in June 2025 said alliance members agreed to raise defense spending to 5% of GDP by 2035.

Whitaker said he was excited to return to Türkiye for the summit.

“I was there about a month ago and spent four days visiting Incirlik, Izmir, Ankara and Istanbul to review summit preparations on-site,” he said, adding that he believed this year’s summit would be “very successful.”

Security preparations

Around 56,000 security personnel will be deployed as part of measures for the NATO Leaders Summit in Ankara, a senior police official said in an interview to Anadolu Agency (AA) on Thursday.

Ankara Deputy Police Chief Arif Hakan Tandoğan said preparations, risk analyses and security assessments began days before the summit.

Speaking at the Ankara Police Department’s City Security Management System Center, Tandoğan said nearly 49,000 police officers and about 7,000 gendarmerie personnel would take part in the security operation.

“So far, nearly 900 sudden inspections have been carried out, and all details are being evaluated,” he said. “Our measures continue in a multilayered and dynamic manner, covering everything from daily rental homes and rental vehicles to parks, gardens, areas around leaders’ accommodations and event venues.”

Tandoğan said the priority was to ensure that heads of state and delegations complete the summit smoothly and leave the country safely and satisfied.

He said crisis centers had been established, including a main crisis center at the city security management center, where continuous monitoring would be carried out. Separate crisis centers operated by different units would also work in coordination, he added.

Tandoğan stressed that daily life in Ankara would continue as normal.

“Life in the city will go on,” he said. “Some measures will be more visible around routes and accommodation areas. Apart from that, there is no situation that should worry our citizens.”

He said alternative routes had been determined and announced by the Presidency’s Directorate of Communications and the governor’s office.

Tandoğan also warned citizens not to trust misinformation and false reports circulating on social media and some news websites, stressing the importance of following statements from official institutions.

“Our measures are at the highest level, but our citizens should rest assured,” he said. “Every detail has been assessed and planned, from the arrival of leaders in our country and capital to their departure.”

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Türkiye’s Defense Ministry on Thursday hosted its weekly press briefing for the first time at the newly built Crescent and Star Joint Headquarters, a sprawling military complex designed to bring together the country’s top defense institutions under one roof, while using the occasion to outline preparations for next week’s NATO summit and reiterate Ankara’s positions on regional security issues.

Rear Adm. Zeki Aktürk, the ministry’s spokesperson, said the headquarters will house the Defense Ministry, the Turkish General Staff and the commands of the army, navy and air force in a single campus aimed at strengthening joint military operations.

Inspired by the design of the Turkish flag, the complex is being built with smart-building technologies, advanced cybersecurity systems and protection against ballistic and chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear threats, Aktürk said.

He added that the headquarters would serve as a strategic military hub under Türkiye’s “Century of Türkiye” vision and would host a reception for visiting defense ministers and senior NATO officials during the NATO leaders’ summit scheduled for July 7-8 in Ankara.

Aktürk described the summit as a significant milestone for the alliance, saying it would reaffirm NATO’s commitment to collective defense while shaping its future strategic direction amid an evolving security environment.

“The summit will once again demonstrate Türkiye’s strategic role within the alliance and the international security architecture,” he said.

He also said that a defense industry forum to be held on the sidelines of the summit is expected to contribute to trans-Atlantic defense industrial cooperation and investment.

Providing an update on Türkiye’s contributions to NATO, Aktürk said the country had completed a one-year command of NATO’s Amphibious Task Force and Landing Force before transferring responsibility to the Netherlands. Command of the alliance’s Air Component was also transferred to France.

He added that military confidence-building measures between Türkiye and Greece continue through reciprocal military delegation visits.

Regional developments

Aktürk criticized Israel’s ongoing military operations across the Middle East, accusing it of undermining regional peace and stability.

He said Israel had continued military strikes despite a cease-fire arrangement with Lebanon and accused it of violating Syria’s sovereignty through attacks in the southern provinces of Quneitra and Daraa.

On U.S.-Iran diplomacy, Aktürk said restraint and responsible engagement by both sides would be important for regional peace.

The ministry also provided updated figures on Türkiye’s counterterrorism operations.

Aktürk said seven members of the PKK terrorist group surrendered to Turkish security forces over the past week. Turkish troops also continued destroying caves, shelters and improvised explosive devices in operational areas, he said.

On border security, he said Turkish authorities detained 331 people attempting to cross the country’s borders illegally during the past week, including four suspected members of terrorist groups, while preventing another 844 people from crossing.

Since the beginning of the year, authorities have detained 5,299 people attempting illegal crossings and blocked more than 40,000 others, according to the ministry.

Aktürk also said Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) search-and-rescue teams remain deployed alongside the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD), following recent earthquakes in Venezuela.

The ministry announced additional defense industry deliveries to the armed forces, including the acceptance of the domestically produced Gökbey utility helicopter for the Turkish Land Forces and the ALP-300G low-altitude radar system for the air force.

Aktürk said the state-owned defense company MKE had successfully completed live-fire demonstrations of its TOLGA close-range air defense system before military attaches from 24 countries. The system is designed to counter kamikaze drones, drone swarms and fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles.

He added that defense contractor Aselsan had delivered new communications, missile-launching, anti-drone and precision-guidance systems to the Turkish navy and air force.

Defense Ministry officials also said efforts to modernize Türkiye’s military health system are continuing under directives from President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, while emphasizing that a recently updated list of controlled military materials reflects a routine technical revision rather than a policy change.

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Turkish security forces detained 66 irregular migrants in operations in the northwestern provinces of Edirne and Kırklareli and the western province of Izmir, officials said Thursday.

In Edirne, security forces detained six foreign nationals who were found to have entered the country illegally during inspections across the province. They were sent to the provincial migration office for processing.

In neighboring Kırklareli, security forces detained six irregular migrants, who were later transferred to the Pehlivanköy Removal Center.

Separately, 54 irregular migrants were detained in two operations in the Çeşme district of Izmir.

A Coast Guard unmanned aerial vehicle detected a group of irregular migrants on land in Babür Bay at around 1:30 a.m. on June 30. In a joint operation by the Coast Guard Aegean Sea Regional Command’s intelligence branch and the Alaçatı Gendarmerie Station, 18 irregular migrants were detained.

Later the same day, at around 8:20 a.m., a Coast Guard mobile coastal surveillance vehicle spotted a rubber boat moving off the coast of Çeşme. A Coast Guard boat stopped the vessel and detained 36 irregular migrants on board.

The 54 migrants detained in Izmir were transferred to the provincial migration office after processing.

Türkiye, a key transit route for migrants seeking to reach Europe, has stepped up border controls and security operations in recent years as part of its efforts to combat irregular migration and migrant smuggling.

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Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Thursday that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and U.S. President Donald Trump share a “strong political will” to remove U.S. sanctions imposed on Türkiye under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), adding that both governments are taking concrete steps to resolve one of the most persistent disputes in bilateral ties.

Speaking in an interview with CNN Türk, Fidan said Erdoğan and Trump had instructed their governments to work toward lifting the sanctions following a meeting in Washington last September.

“Both our president and President Trump have a strong will to remove the CAATSA sanctions,” Fidan said. “Our defense minister and I have been working intensively on this issue. Overall, relations are moving in a positive direction.”

The sanctions were imposed after Türkiye acquired Russia’s S-400 missile defense system, leading Washington to remove Ankara from the F-35 fighter jet program in 2019 and later sanction Türkiye’s defense procurement agency under CAATSA.

Fidan said the sanctions remain the only major institutional obstacle in U.S.-Türkiye relations, arguing that many other restrictions imposed on Ankara over the past several years had already been lifted.

“There are specific decisions that can sometimes be taken against Türkiye, but the only permanent negative issue that remains today is the CAATSA sanctions,” he said.

While declining to predict when the measures could be lifted, Fidan said administrative work was progressing and that the process would become visible as implementation advanced. He noted that executive action and congressional procedures do not always move at the same pace.

“There is no problem regarding political will within the administrations,” Fidan noted. “The question is how the process in the U.S. Congress will proceed.”

His remarks come days before leaders are expected to gather in Ankara for a NATO summit, where Erdoğan and Trump are scheduled to hold bilateral talks alongside broader alliance discussions.

Fidan said Trump’s participation in the summit had been confirmed, describing it as significant both for NATO and for Türkiye.

“This alone is important and positive news for the alliance,” he stressed, adding that Trump’s decision reflected the relationship between the two leaders.

He said Erdoğan would also hold meetings with leaders from Britain, Germany, France, Italy and other allied countries during the summit, with many governments seeking to advance bilateral issues while in Ankara.

On defense cooperation, Fidan said lifting restrictions on F-35 sales and restoring Türkiye’s role as a production partner should be viewed as separate issues.

“The removal of the sales ban is an easier matter,” he said. “I believe that can happen after CAATSA.”

Returning Türkiye to the multinational F-35 production consortium, however, would require a new decision by partner countries because Ankara was formally removed from the program through a collective decision, he added.

He declined to comment on whether Trump’s recent reference to a possible “surprise” in bilateral relations concerned Türkiye’s reported interest in acquiring U.S.-made jet engines for its domestically developed KAAN fighter aircraft.

Beyond defense ties, Fidan said the two NATO allies share strategic objectives on several regional issues, including ending the war in Ukraine, stabilizing Syria and Iraq, and promoting regional security.

Peace efforts in region

Fidan also said Türkiye had worked closely with the United States on efforts to halt fighting in Gaza and maintained dialogue on broader regional stability.

Turning to the recent conflict involving Iran, Israel and the United States, Fidan described Türkiye as one of the key diplomatic actors seeking to prevent a wider regional war.

He said Türkiye, Qatar and Pakistan coordinated mediation efforts during the crisis and helped facilitate contacts aimed at securing a cease-fire.

“We were racing against time to stop the war,” Fidan said, adding that trusted intermediaries were essential during periods of escalating tensions.

He argued that international pressure over the potential closure of the Strait of Hormuz played an important role in preventing further escalation because of concerns over global energy supplies, food security and economic stability.

Commenting on Israel’s regional policies, Fidan sharply criticized the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, accusing it of fueling instability across the Middle East.

He said growing international criticism of Israel reflected changing global attitudes and argued that governments had become increasingly willing to impose restrictions, including limits on arms exports and sanctions targeting Israeli officials.

Fidan also pointed to the International Criminal Court’s arrest warrants against Netanyahu and other Israeli leaders as evidence of increasing international pressure.

Türkiye suspended approximately $10 billion in bilateral trade with Israel earlier this year, a move Fidan said was intended primarily as a political message rather than an attempt to inflict direct economic damage.

He maintained that Israel had become “a problem for the entire international community,” arguing that lasting regional stability would require broader international action rather than efforts by Türkiye alone.

Minister’s Russia visit

The Turkish minister also underlined that his recent talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin should be viewed as part of President Erdoğan’s direct dialogue with Moscow, as Ankara seeks to maintain communication on Ukraine, the Caucasus, the Middle East, and other regional issues.

Fidan said the latest meeting focused on Russia’s position on the war in Ukraine and Putin’s current view of the diplomatic process.

“When I went there in May, we discussed this at length,” Fidan said. “There was a vision he put forward. We later spoke extensively with his negotiators. Now it was necessary to hear from Mr. Putin himself where we stand.”

Fidan noted that understanding the intentions of all sides is critical, warning that when governments lack direct communication, they are forced to plan according to worst-case scenarios.

He added that Russia’s positions also matter for Türkiye’s interests in the Caucasus peace process, Palestine, Gaza, Lebanon and Syria.

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Türkiye’s National Intelligence Academy (MIA) has published a report describing the upcoming NATO summit in Ankara as a critical turning point for the alliance, arguing that NATO must adapt to an increasingly complex security environment shaped by great-power competition, hybrid threats and emerging technologies.

The report, titled “The Ankara Summit, NATO 3.0 Debates and Türkiye,” examines NATO’s evolving security architecture, the concept of “NATO 3.0” and Türkiye’s strategic role within the alliance ahead of the leaders’ summit.

The National Intelligence Academy, a graduate-level institution established under the National Intelligence Organization (MIT) in 2023, focuses on intelligence, national security research and postgraduate education.

According to the report released on Friday, the international security landscape has moved beyond the relatively predictable post-Cold War order toward a multipolar environment marked by heightened uncertainty and hybrid competition. It cites intensifying rivalry among major powers, China’s technological and economic rise, the Russia-Ukraine war, and the Israel-Iran conflict as developments that have fundamentally reshaped global security.

The report argues that security can no longer be defined solely in military terms, saying cyberattacks, disinformation, energy coercion and attacks on critical infrastructure have become strategic instruments of competition. It also emphasizes that societal resilience and what it describes as “cognitive security” have become integral components of national and collective defense.

Using the analytical framework of “NATO 3.0,” the report traces the alliance’s evolution from its Cold War focus on collective defense through the post-Cold War era of crisis management and out-of-area operations to a new phase centered on integrated deterrence and resilience. It notes that the term “NATO 3.0” is not an official NATO classification but an analytical concept reflecting the alliance’s changing strategic priorities.

The report says modern security now extends beyond land, sea and air to include cyberspace, outer space, the electromagnetic spectrum and the cognitive domain. It argues that collective deterrence increasingly depends on an integrated approach spanning defense industries, cyber capabilities, air and missile defense, artificial intelligence, critical infrastructure and societal resilience.

It also says NATO’s longstanding debate over burden-sharing has evolved beyond defense spending, focusing instead on which allies develop specific capabilities and assume greater responsibility during crises. As the U.S. shifts more of its strategic attention toward the Indo-Pacific, the report argues that Europe will inevitably shoulder greater responsibility for regional security.

The report describes strategic autonomy as a central element of the NATO 3.0 debate, arguing that stronger national capabilities in defense, technology, energy and critical infrastructure can reinforce the alliance if they remain interoperable with NATO planning.

The academy portrays Türkiye as a leading example of the type of ally NATO will increasingly require. It says the country has expanded its domestic defense capabilities, developed expertise in critical technologies and strengthened its ability to counter hybrid threats, allowing it to contribute greater strategic value to the alliance.

According to the report, Türkiye’s unique contribution lies in its ability to address security challenges on both NATO’s eastern and southern flanks simultaneously. It points to Ankara’s role in Black Sea security and the Montreux Convention alongside its engagement in security issues involving Syria, Iraq, Libya, the Eastern Mediterranean and the broader Middle East.

The report also highlights Türkiye’s defense industry, citing advances in unmanned aerial systems, electronic warfare, radar technologies, land and naval platforms, command-and-control systems and artificial intelligence-supported decision-making. It says these capabilities strengthen both Türkiye’s national security and NATO’s overall deterrence.

It adds that intelligence-sharing has become an increasingly important element of alliance cooperation, arguing that the MIT’s expanding operational capabilities have enhanced Türkiye’s contribution to NATO intelligence.

Looking ahead to the Ankara summit, the report says the meeting will serve not only as a forum to address current security crises but also as a defining moment for NATO’s institutional and strategic future.

It identifies defense spending, industrial production capacity, U.S.-European burden-sharing, the security priorities of NATO’s eastern and southern flanks, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, space security and next-generation technologies as the alliance’s principal agenda items.

The report notes that NATO leaders agreed at last month’s Hague summit to raise the alliance’s defense spending benchmark to 5% of gross domestic product, but argues that the more important question is how effectively those resources are translated into military capabilities.

It also says resilience has become as important as deterrence, arguing that energy infrastructure, communications networks, financial systems, public opinion and societal psychology are now essential components of security. The report calls for NATO to adopt a “comprehensive resilience” approach as a core strategic principle.

For Türkiye, the report says hosting the summit represents more than a diplomatic event. It argues that Ankara is well positioned to help shape NATO’s evolving strategic framework by promoting a 360-degree approach to security, strengthening defense industrial cooperation, enhancing allied coordination against terrorism and contributing its experience in countering disinformation, cyber threats, irregular migration and attacks on critical infrastructure.

The report concludes that NATO’s long-term effectiveness will depend on its ability to convert higher defense spending into tangible military capabilities, redefine trans-Atlantic burden-sharing without weakening deterrence, balance the security priorities of its eastern and southern flanks, and place resilience at the center of collective defense.

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