The Middle East rang in the new year with assassinations and terror attacks. Saleh al-Arouri, the deputy leader of Hamas' political bureau, was assassinated in Beirut last Tuesday. The following day, two bombings in Kirman, Iran (for which Daesh has claimed responsibility) killed 103 people. As those attacks shifted everyone’s attention to Israel, Iran and Hezbollah pledged to exact “revenge and a heavy price.”

On Dec. 1, the Wall Street Journal published a story by Dion Nissenbaum saying that Israel is planning to kill Hamas members around the world, mentioning those living in Lebanon, Türkiye, and Qatar. Turkish officials responded with a harsh statement through Anadolu that the Turkish Intelligence Agency (MIT) will never permit such undertakings, as various intelligence organizations tried to in the past. Pointing out the illegality of these alleged acts in Türkiye, officials said they had warned Mossad representatives in Türkiye. Turkish intelligence has made public several intelligence operations revealing Mossad cells and their activities in Türkiye. This shows that another wave of intelligence competition is coming in the days ahead including Mossad’s quest to attack Hamas in third countries and the MIT’s efforts to repel the Mossad threats.

Since the restructuring of the state administration in the wake of the failed coup attempt in July 2016, Türkiye has been following a holistic foreign policy. Several significant changes were made to increase the effectiveness of Turkish foreign policy.

One of the most important transformations of the Turkish political system was realized after the failed coup attempt on July 15, 2016. Türkiye has successfully restructured its domestic political system and redefined the responsibilities of many state institutions. Among others, foreign policy actors were diversified. Many governmental institutions such as the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA) and the Presidency of Turks Abroad and Related Communities (YTB), have begun to play effective roles in the field of foreign policy.

Ankara hopes to be a balancing factor in the region that generates security and stability.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has harshly criticized the Gezi Park riots in his recent public speeches, as he asked Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) chairperson, whether the main opposition leader would contest the presidential election.

High-level delegations from Turkey pay frequent visits to the Libyan capital Tripoli. Most recently, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu attended critical meetings alongside Defense Minister Hulusi Akar, Turkish Chief of General Staff Gen. Yaşar Güler and National Intelligence Organization (MİT) chief Hakan Fidan.

The Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) have launched two operations, Claw Tiger and Claw Eagle, which constitute some of the broadest cross-border military operations against PKK targets in northern Iraq in recent years.

PKK has targeted Turkey through violent terrorist attacks as well as fake news and black propaganda since March 2020 when the first COVID-19 cases emerged in Turkey and neighboring countries

SETA Security Radar attempts to anticipate the course of major security issues Turkey faces and how to develop and enhance sound and relevant responses within this increasingly challenging regional security environment.

Dieser Bericht ist als Teil des englischsprachigen European Islamophobia Report entstanden. Der Österreichische Islamophobie-Bericht 2017 bildet dabei den Länderbericht für Österreich ab. Ziel dieses Berichtes ist es, die Entwicklung und den Status Quo von Islamophobie im jeweiligen Kalenderjahr aufzuzeigen.

We can say that the organization enacted a three-stage plan on the night of July 15.

Turkish people from different political backgrounds, President Erdoğan and the government stood in harmony against those who wanted to establish a dictatorship through military power

With the new testimonies and evidence, the story becomes scarier and the extent of the threat becomes more obvious. The fight that Turkey is giving becomes more visible and understandable with these details

The AK Party makes the understanding the pillar of its policy that the status quo which maintains no-solution as its foundation can no longer be maintained.

Today, quite common verbal attacks against Turkey through the National Intelligence Organization (MİT) Undersecretary Hakan Fidan are directly related to the security architecture and the preferences thereof, the change in problem solving methods and the efforts to remain independent in foreign policy.