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Keyword: erdogan

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  • Methane gas kills 12 Turkish soldiers in Iraq operation

    07/07/2025 7:55:19 AM PDT · by BenLurkin · 24 replies
    bbc ^ | 7/07/2025 | Imogen James
    Twelve Turkish soldiers have died after being exposed to methane gas while searching a cave in northern Iraq, the Turkish Ministry of National Defence said. At least 19 personnel were exposed to the gas during the search and clear operation on Sunday, and immediately taken to hospital. By Monday, 12 had died, the ministry said. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he received the news with "great sorrow" and extended his condolences to the soldiers' families and to the Turkish Armed Forces. Methane gas is not directly toxic, but can be deadly as it can become suffocating, especially in tight, enclosed...
  • 3 mayors arrested in southern Turkey as part of crackdown on opposition

    07/05/2025 5:19:24 PM PDT · by george76 · 20 replies
    AP ^ | July 5, 2025 | ANDREW WILKS
    The mayors of three major cities in southern Turkey were arrested Saturday, state-run media reported, joining a growing list of opposition figures detained since the mayor of Istanbul was imprisoned in March. Abdurrahman Tutdere, the mayor of Adiyaman, and Zeydan Karalar, who heads Adana municipality, were detained in early morning raids, according to Anadolu Agency. Both are members of the main opposition Republican People’s Party, or CHP. The CHP mayor of Antalya, Muhittin Bocek, was arrested with two other suspects in a separate bribery investigation by the Antalya Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, Anadolu reported. CHP officials have faced waves of...
  • Revolutionary Guards shelter Swedish gang leader linked to Europe attacks

    07/05/2025 1:04:18 AM PDT · by piasa · 4 replies
    Iran International ^ | Apr 24, 2025, 13:50 GMT+1
    The leader of a Swedish criminal network accused of assisting Tehran in attacks on Israeli-linked targets in Europe is currently living in Iran under the protection of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), sources told Iran International. Rawa Majid received funds from Iran’s embassy in Denmark to help coordinate attacks against Israeli diplomatic facilities in Copenhagen and Stockholm, according to a source familiar with the matter inside the IRGC. The source also said the gang leader travels between Iran and Afghanistan for operations overseen by the IRGC. Majid leads a criminal group, Foxtrot, recently sanctioned by the UK and the...
  • Treasury Sanctions Swedish Gang and Leader Serving Iranian Regime

    07/05/2025 12:52:06 AM PDT · by piasa · 2 replies
    U.S. Treasury ^ | March 12, 2005
    WASHINGTON — Today, Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned the Foxtrot Network, a transnational criminal organization (TCO) primarily based in Sweden that has trafficked illicit drugs and that carried out attacks on Israelis and Jews in Europe, along with its fugitive leader Rawa Majid. In January 2024, the Foxtrot Network orchestrated an attack on the Israeli Embassy in Stockholm, Sweden, on behalf of the Government of Iran. “Iran’s brazen use of transnational criminal organizations and narcotics traffickers underscores the regime’s attempts to achieve its aims through any means, with no regard for the cost to communities across Europe,”...
  • Kurdish 'Foxtrot' gangster flees Turkey to avoid extradition to Sweden Rawa Majid had been living in Turkey in a bid to avoid facing drugs charges in Sweden

    07/05/2025 12:37:45 AM PDT · by piasa · 1 replies
    The National News ^ | March 27, 2025 | Tariq Tahir London
    A notorious Kurdish gangster has fled Turkey to avoid extradition on drug-trafficking charges, a Swedish prosecutor has told The National. Rawa Majid, 39, known as the Kurdish Fox, had been living in Turkey, where his citizenship protected him from being extradited to Sweden, and was widely accused of playing a major part in gang violence. Authorities had hoped Majid’s prosecution on forgery charges would result in his citizenship being revoked, allowing his return to Sweden. But Henrik Soderman, who submitted the first extradition request to Turkey, has now confirmed that Majid, who leads the Foxtrot Network of criminals, is no...
  • One of Sweden's most wanted criminals is arrested 1,600 miles away, police say

    07/04/2025 11:54:00 PM PDT · by piasa · 7 replies
    CBS/AFP ^ | July 4, 2025
    The head of one of Sweden's biggest crime organizations, accused of instigating a surge in violent crime, has been arrested more than 1,600 miles away in Turkey, Swedish police said on Friday. Police did not identify the man by name but Swedish media named him as 35-year-old Ismail Abdo, head of the Rumba crime organization and alleged to have been orchestrating operations from abroad. Abdo is one of Sweden's most wanted criminals and the subject of an international arrest warrant since 2024. The Scandinavian country, once known for its low crime rates, has struggled for years to rein in organized...
  • Turkey Welcomes Hamas Leaders as Terrorists Consider Ceasefire Deal

    07/03/2025 7:09:52 AM PDT · by ChicagoConservative27 · 6 replies
    Breitbart ^ | 07/03/2025 | Frances Martel
    The government of Turkey offered a warm welcome to a delegation representing the jihadist terrorist organization Hamas on Wednesday, expressing support for its cause and accusing the government of Israel of “genocide” for engaging in self-defense operations against the group. Muhammad Ismail Darwish, the head of the Hamas Islamic “shura council,” met with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan in Ankara to “discuss developments in ceasefire negotiations and the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza,” according to the Turkish newspaper Hurriyet. Darwish is one of the few remaining high-ranking leaders within Hamas after several Israeli operations targeting both the “political” and “military”...
  • New wave of arrests in Turkey targets main opposition party

    07/03/2025 5:11:14 PM PDT · by george76 · 13 replies
    Le Monde ^ | Jul. 3, 2025 | Nicolas Bourcier
    The former mayor of Izmir, a stronghold of opposition to President Erdogan, along with 109 municipal officials from the Republican People's Party (CHP), were arrested on Tuesday on charges of corruption and misconduct. The party has rejected the accusations. There is a feeling of déjà vu in Turkey. After the publication of a political cartoon, which Turkish authorities said depicted the Prophet Muhammad, led to the arrest of four journalists on Monday, June 30, in Istanbul, authorities carried out a large-scale sweep in Izmir at dawn on Tuesday. Izmir, the country's third-largest city, is a bastion of the Republican People's...
  • Erdogan says Trump would join Ukraine peace talks in Turkey if Putin attends

    07/03/2025 8:46:43 AM PDT · by marcusmaximus · 2 replies
    Reuters ^ | 6/26/2025 | Tuvan Gumrukcu
    Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump told him he would attend potential peace talks between the leaders of Ukraine and Russia in Turkey, if Russian President Vladimir Putin also agreed to take part. On his return flight from the NATO summit, where he met Trump for the first time since he returned to office, Erdogan said he told the U.S. president Ankara aims to bring the Russian and Ukrainian leaders together in Turkey for peace talks. "He (Trump) said, 'if Russian President Vladimir Putin comes to Istanbul or Ankara for a solution, then I will also...
  • Turkish cartoonists detained over controversial religious satire

    07/01/2025 3:08:52 AM PDT · by Eleutheria5 · 13 replies
    Arutz Sheva ^ | 1/7/25 | Elad Benari
    Turkish authorities on Monday detained three cartoonists associated with the weekly magazine Leman following the publication of a satirical drawing that has ignited controversy and drawn condemnation from government officials and religious conservatives, Reuters reported. The illustration, widely seen as depicting Prophets Moses and Muhammad shaking hands above a scene of conflict, has been interpreted by many as a commentary on religious harmony amidst earthly strife. Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya publicly announced the apprehension of cartoonist Dogan Pehlevan, sharing a video on X showing Pehlevan being taken into custody. "I once again curse those who try to sow discord by...
  • Scoop: Trump's backchannel to Iran failed after supreme leader went dark

    06/21/2025 10:01:58 AM PDT · by marcusmaximus · 30 replies
    Axios ^ | 6/21/2025 | Barak Ravid
    President Trump and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan quietly sought to arrange a meeting between senior U.S. and Iranian officials in Istanbul this week amid Israel's escalating war with Iran. But the effort collapsed when Iran's supreme leader — in hiding due to fears of assassination — couldn't be reached to approve it, according to three U.S. officials and a source with direct knowledge of the matter. -snip- Behind the scenes: Trump received a phone call from Erdoğan on Monday while meeting with G7 leaders in Canada. Erdoğan proposed hosting a meeting in Istanbul the next day between U.S. and...
  • Iran will emerge victorious in face of Israeli aggression: Erdogan at OIC summit

    06/21/2025 4:27:46 AM PDT · by marcusmaximus · 20 replies
    Samaa ^ | 6/21/2025 | Staff
    Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has expressed full confidence that Iran will emerge victorious amid rising tensions with Israel, calling the Netanyahu government the greatest threat to regional peace and stability. Speaking at an emergency summit of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in Istanbul on Saturday, Erdogan likened Israel’s current actions to those of Nazi Germany under Hitler, warning that Tel Aviv’s policies are setting the region—and the world—on fire. “We are confident that victory will be on Iran’s side,” Erdogan said, adding that “just as the spark ignited by Hitler 90 years ago set the world ablaze, Netanyahu’s...
  • Erdogan says Israel-Iran war near ‘point of no return,’ vows to boost missile production

    06/21/2025 4:31:28 AM PDT · by fruser1 · 32 replies
    Times of Israel ^ | 6/20/2025 | TOI Staff
    The escalating Iran-Israel confrontation is quickly reaching “the point of no return,” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday and announced plans by Ankara to boost production of medium- and long-range missiles so no country dares attack Turkey, sparking fears of a regional arms race. “Unfortunately, the genocide in Gaza and the conflict with Iran are quickly reaching the point of no return. This madness must end as soon as possible,” Erdogan said, warning the consequences could affect the region, Europe and Asia “for many years.”
  • Will This Blow Up NATO?

    06/20/2025 5:12:05 AM PDT · by george76 · 10 replies
    PJ Media ^ | June 19, 2025 | Robert Spencer
    Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Turkey has long coveted the Greek Aegean islands in the disputed waters between the two countries, and now it has made its claim official. ... Turkey “has provoked Greece by submitting a map to UNESCO claiming parts of the Aegean Sea – which has been the primary point of contention and discussions between the countries ... Erdogan refuses to recognize the Treaty of Lausanne, which ceded the Aegean islands in question now to Greece, despite the fact that the Republic of Turkey duly ratified the treaty on Aug. 23, 1923, as well as the fact that Turkey...
  • Putin, Erdogan condemn Israeli actions against Iran

    06/16/2025 5:31:50 AM PDT · by marcusmaximus · 11 replies
    Times of Israel ^ | 6/16/2025 | Reuters
    Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan condemned Israel’s “act of force” against Iran and called for an immediate cessation of hostilities when they spoke by phone on Monday, the Kremlin says. “Both sides expressed the most serious concern about the ongoing escalation of the Iran-Israel conflict, which has already led to a large number of casualties and is fraught with serious long-term consequences for the entire region,” a Kremlin statement says. “The leaders spoke in favor of an immediate cessation of hostilities and the settlement of contentious issues, including those related to the Iranian nuclear program, exclusively...
  • US-backed Kurds strike deal with Syrian gov't to clear ISIS camps

    05/27/2025 4:46:07 AM PDT · by bert · 18 replies
    Jerusalem Post ^ | MAY 26, 2025 | SETH J. FRANTZMAN
    Syria’s new government will relocate ISIS families from camps, with Kurdish and US support. The new Syrian transitional government is seeking to find a way to deal with thousands of ISIS families who have been housed at camps in eastern Syria since ISIS was defeated in Syria in 2019. When ISIS was defeated in several villages near the Euphrates River in 2019, some of the terrorist group chose to surrender, and thousands of families of ISIS fighters ended up in the hands of the US-led Syrian Democratic Forces. The thousands of families were sent to several camps and detention facilities...
  • Iraqi Kurds Sign Billions in Energy Deals With U.S. Despite Baghdad Oil Dispute

    05/19/2025 2:29:38 PM PDT · by BeauBo · 6 replies
    OilPrice.com ^ | May 19, 2025 | Charles Kennedy
    The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in northern Iraq has formalized two major energy agreements with U.S. firms HKN Energy and WesternZagros in Washington, D.C., Kurdish media reported on Monday, in deals valued at a combined $110 billion, despite a legal showdown with the federal government of Iraq over control of the country’s oil exports... ...The deals were formalized during KRG Prime Minister Masrour Barzani's official visit to the United States this week... ...Washington has been advocating for the resumption of Kurdish oil exports, which have been stalled since March 2023 due to legal disputes and pipeline shutdowns. Washington's push aims...
  • Rubio says potential collapse of Syrian transitional authority may be weeks away

    05/20/2025 8:39:09 AM PDT · by marcusmaximus · 31 replies
    Jerusalem Post ^ | 5/20/2025 | Reuters
    US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Tuesday that the Syrian transitional authority may be weeks away from potential collapse and full-scale civil war, defending US President Donald Trump's decision to lift Syria sanctions and to engage with the Damascus government. "It is our assessment that, frankly, the transitional authority, given the challenges they're facing, are maybe weeks, not many months, away from potential collapse and a full-scale civil war of epic proportions, basically the country splitting up," Rubio told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
  • Trump's meeting with Sharaa, unthinkable just months ago, boosts Syrians' hopes

    05/14/2025 1:22:30 PM PDT · by RandFan · 22 replies
    BBC ^ | May 14 | BBC
    Donald Trump has said his administration is now exploring the possibility of normalising relations with Syria - his comments coming shortly after he met Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, whose forces ended the decades-long dictatorship of the Assad family. The extraordinary encounter, unthinkable just months ago, was short but significant. "I think he has got the potential," Trump remarked after his meeting in Riyadh, 37 minutes long, with the former Syrian fighter formerly linked to Al-Qaeda. The $10m US bounty on his head was only lifted in December. Video footage of their conversation in a lavish Saudi royal palace showed...
  • Trump urges Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa to sign Abraham Accords recognizing Israel

    05/14/2025 6:08:21 AM PDT · by ChicagoConservative27 · 30 replies
    NY Post ^ | 05/14/2025 | Diana Glebova and Steven Nelson
    RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — President Trump urged Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa to sign the Abraham Accords in a previously unplanned meeting on Wednesday, one day after lifting all sanctions on the Middle Eastern country. The two leaders met on the sidelines of a Gulf Cooperation Council gathering in Riyadh, with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan phoning into the conversation. Syria currently doesn’t recognize Israel’s statehood, and the Abraham Accords were just one of Trump’s requests to Syria in an effort to normalize relations. Trump also told the Syrian leader to make all foreign terrorists leave Syria, deport Palestinian terrorists, help...