All articles - Turkey

The Agencies' Gazette
Israeli anti-missile system, Turkish-Kazakh cooperation, Macron decorates special forces

Appointments, reforms and the issues at stake: every Monday, Intelligence Online serves up snippets big and small from the global intelligence community from London to Paris via Nur-Sultan.

Israel/GulfRiyadh, Abu Dhabi and Manama eye Tel Aviv's anti-missile shield

Turkey/KazakhstanKazakh and Turkish military intelligence services strengthen rapprochement

FrancePresident Emmanuel Macron and Special Forces' love-in continues

Turkey highlights safe satellite communication capacity to promote drone exports

Ankara has taken a step towards an independent and exporting defence industry with the deployment of a new secure military satellite communications system. This comes after criticism of its drones being highly vulnerable to detection.

Mossad back in Ankara thanks to Israeli-Turkish rapprochement

Against a background of ongoing regional dialogues, Israel and Turkey have taken up the reconciliation baton and resumed discussions and official visits. This has led their intelligence services, Mossad and MIT, to relaunch their cooperation.

Abbas Kamel and Hakan Fidan's talks stumble on Libya and Muslim Brotherhood

Tension is rising between Egypt and Turkey's intelligence chiefs over Turkey's refusal to extradite suspected Muslim Brotherhood members and Erdogan's Libyan ambitions, differences that jeopardise an Egyptian-Turkish reconciliation.

Thales quietly teams with Turkish Defense industry on new spy ship

The MIT's first intelligence corvette, which launched last month, was built by Turkish defence companies and Yaltes, the local subsidiary of Thales. The vessel signals Turkish intelligence's growing activity in the Mediterranean, where it is competing against France.

Spotlight
Israeli and Turkish cyber experts make beeline for Baku

Increasingly exposed to Russian cyber activity, Azerbaijan is looking to beef up its cyberdefences, with Israel and Turkey's help.

Turkish AKP ally Khalil Ibrahim controls electricity supplies to northern Syria

After its military operations in northern Syria, Turkey is starting to monopolise the supply of electricity in the region via AK Energy, a move that has also created work for Turkish companies close to the Syrian border.

US defence groups conduct Greek sales offensive in Washington as well as Athens

US arms manufacturers have applauded the adoption of the new bilateral cooperation agreement adopted by Congress in late December with the backing of the Democrats and lobbyists from the United States's Greek community.

Alexander Machkevich, the financier diplomat helping Turkey reconcile with Israel

Despite their ongoing differences, Ankara has reached out to Tel Aviv as it continues to patch up relations with its regional neighbours, helped by advocates of the reconciliation in both Turkey and Israel. These proponents of a warming of relations include Mendy Chitrik, head of the Alliance of Rabbis in Islamic States that receives funding from Kazakh oligarch Alexander Machkevich.

MIT strengthens cooperation with Qatar's intelligence services ahead of 2022 World Cup

The Emir of Qatar has turned to Turkey to beef up security ahead of next year's football World Cup, an arrangement that gives Turkey an opportunity to strengthen its hold in the emirate.

Mossad and VEVAK targeted by Turkish counter-espionage service

Turkish intelligence service MIT, which is concerned about the growing number of foreign agents operating in Turkey, is strengthening its counter-espionage capacities. It has increasingly been carrying out arrests and breaking up spy cells, with the activities of the Iranian and Israeli intelligence services getting particular attention.

Turkish and Iranian spies take cloak and dagger warfare from Afghanistan to Lebanon

The Taliban takeover of Kabul has opened a new battle front between the intelligence and hybrid warfare services of Turkey and Iran, who are already at daggers drawn over all of the regional issues.

MIT's north Syrian outpost reflects Turkish unease

Turkey's increasingly belligerent tone on Syria could herald a new campaign in the country given the troop deployment extension ratified by parliament last week. The Turkish intelligence agency, which has been behind several arrests, is already quietly working in the area.