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ConflictWatch Turkey Feed was generated at Central Asia ConflictWatch.

Saturday, 22 July

00:54

Washington sanctions 14 Iraqi banks in new anti-Iran crackdown "IndyWatch Feed War"

The Cradle | July 20, 2023

The US Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York have barred 14 Iraqi banks from conducting transactions in US dollars as part of a sweeping crackdown to stop Iran and other sanctioned nations from acquiring the greenback, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on 19 July.

US officials say the new sanctions were issued after discovering information showing the banks engaged in money laundering and fraudulent transactions, some of which may have involved sanctioned individuals and raised concerns that Iran could benefit.

We have strong reason to suspect that at least some of these laundered funds could end up going to benefit either designated individuals or individuals who could be designated, a senior US official told the WSJ.

The banks targeted by the punitive measures are small institutions reportedly heavily involved in US dollar transactions.

According to Iraqs Shafaq News, the targeted banks include the Islamic Advisor for Investment and Finance, the Islamic Qartas for Investment and Finance, Al Mustashar Islamic Bank, Elaf Bank, Erbil Bank, the International Islamic Bank, Trans-Iraq Bank, Mosul Bank, Al-Rajeh Bank, Sumer Commercial Bank, Trust International Islamic Bank, the World Islamic Bank, and Zain Iraq Islamic Bank.

The sanctions came only one day after the US State Department issued a new 120-day sanctions waiver to allow Baghdad to deposit payments for Iranian natural gas into non-Iraqi banks in response to criticism that the White House is responsible for recent power cuts at the height of Iraqs blistering hot summer.

Since 2003, all Iraqi oil revenues have been paid into an account with the US Federal Reserve. Although Iraqis formed a sovereign government after the US invasion and occupation of their state, Iraq is still restricted from opening accounts for its oil earnings outside the US.

Given its dominance of the global financial system, Washington can control all funds of Iraq...

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Friday, 21 July

23:02

Erdogans Flip: How Turkiye and Azerbaijan Became Ukraine Allies "IndyWatch Feed War"

Western thinking of Turkish and Azerbaijani Presidents Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Ilham Aliyev has been very wrong. Both countries are Ukraines strongest allies in the Greater Middle East, where Arab countries and Israel are sitting on the fence and trying to play both sides or hiding their heads in the sand. This is not the case with Turkiye and Azerbaijan.

Turkiye and Azerbaijan have a close military and political alliance drawn up after the 2020 Second Karabakh War. Both countries are critically disposed toward Russia and align with the pro-Western camp: Turkiye as a NATO member and Azerbaijan as a non-aligned country that has stayed away from Russian-led Eurasian integration projects.

Turkiye is home to millions of Crimean Tatars who moved to the Ottoman Empire in the nineteenth century. Their Crimean homeland was occupied by the Russian Empire in 1783 which changed its ethnic balance. Crimean Tatars, who closely follow developments in Russian-occupied Crimea, where racism, Islamophobia, and political repression is endemic, are a powerful anti-Russian lobby in Turkiye.

Iran meanwhile has become Russias staunchest ally in the Kremlins fight against the US-dominated unipolar world and its replacement by an allegedly more democratic multipolar world. Iran is constructing a facility to build Shaheed drones in Russia, while Turkiye is building a plant to build Bayraktar drones in Ukraine.

Western governments have wrongly portrayed President Erdogan as being in bed with Vladimir Putin, Russias president, and were therefore wrong-footed by his recent steps. In the space of a week, Erdogan released Ukrainian POWs from the Spring 2022 battle for the port of Mariupol, infuriating the Kremlin because they had been released from Russian captivity on the basis that they would spend the entirety of the war in Turkiye.

But Erdogan went even further. On the eve of the recent NATO summit, Erdogan extended strong support to Ukraine becoming a member of NATO. Turkiyes support infuriated the Kremlin who has expressed strong opposition to Ukraine joining NATO and the EU because this would definitively end any possibility of bringing the country into the Russian World.

In addition to 35 Bayraktar TB2 and 24 Mini-Bayraktar reconnaissance drones, Turkiye is sending other types of military equipment to Ukraine. Before the US announcement, Turkiye said it would supply Ukraine with cluster munitions. Turkiye sent up to 200 TRLG-230 Rokestan missiles to Ukraine that can be fired from multiple rocket launchers and have a range of 20 to 70 kilometers. Turkiye also sent 200 Kirpi mine-resistant armoured personnel carriers and 20 COBRA II 44 Tactical Wheeled Armoured Vehicles.

During the same week of NATOs summit in Vilnius, Turkiye said its navy would escort Ukrainian grain ships through the Black Sea. Turkiyes offer will be tested later this month after R...

22:00

Turkey: Fatwa tells Syrians they can pray at home to avoid deportation drive "IndyWatch Feed War"

Turkey: Fatwa tells Syrians they can pray at home to avoid deportation drive

Syrians are in the firing line once again as Turkish police step up search and arrest operation against asylum seekers

MEE staff Fri, 07/21/2023 - 13:00

A Muslim worshipper prays at the Hagia Sophia mosque in Istanbul, Turkey, on 5 July 2023 (AP)

A woman prays at the Hagia Sophia mosque in Istanbul, Turkey, on 5 July 2023 (AP)

A Muslim religious writer has cited a fatwa permitting Syrian refugees to avoid attending Friday prayers at mosques in Turkey in order to evade police checks, amid an intensified deportation drive by authorities.

Turkish police have stepped up ID checks and arrests in Istanbul and other major cities in recent weeks, in a campaign targeting refugees and asylum seekers.

Around 1,000 Syrians have been forced to return to their war-torn country in the first two weeks of July, despite most having valid residency permits, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR).

The UK-based group called the campaign inhumane and urged Ankara to halt the degrading and forced deportations.

The Observatory denounces such inhumane treatment of refugees who were forced to flee the horror of war to Turkey and did not come [to the country] by choice, the group said last week.

19:21

Erdoan Comes in from the Cold "IndyWatch Feed Economics"

While the war in Ukraine has shown once again that Turkey and Europe need each other, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoans behavior has underscored just how different the European Union and Turkey are. Given Turkeys size and importance, these differences must be managed, because they cannot be ignored.

06:11

Fear and loathing on Air Force One "IndyWatch Feed World"

Biden's anxieties over the Ukraine War and the election in 2024 come into view... Let's start with a silly fear but one that does signal the Democratic Party's growing sense of panic about the 2024 Presidential election. It was expressed to me by someone with excellent party credentials: that Trump could be the Republican nominee and will select Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as his running mate. The strange duo will then sweep to a huge victory over a stumbling Joe Biden, and also take down many of the party's House and Senate candidates. As for real signs of acute Democratic anxiety: Joe Biden got what he needed before the NATO summit this week by somehow turning Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan inside out and getting him to rebuff Vladimir Putin by announcing that he would support NATO membership for Sweden. The public story for Biden's face-saving coup was talk about agreeing to sell American F-16 fighter bombers to Turkey. I have been told a different, secret story about...

05:38

Turkey to host Netanyahu and Abbas separately next week "IndyWatch Feed War"

Turkey to host Netanyahu and Abbas separately next week

While the meetings will be three days apart, Erdogan will discuss current regional and global issues with the Palestinian and Israeli leaders

MEE staff Thu, 07/20/2023 - 20:38

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan gives a press conference during the Nato Summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, on 12 July 2023 (AFP)

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will be hosted in Turkey during the same week, the Turkish presidency announced on Thursday.

Turkey will host Abbas on 25 July and Netanyahu on 28 July.

The leaders who will come to our country upon the invitation of President [Recep Tayyip] Erdogan will exchange views on current regional and global issues, the office said in a statement.

During the official meetings between Erdogan and Abbas, Turkey-Palestine relations will be discussed, as well as the latest developments in the Israel-Palestine conflict. Other regional and international issues will also be talked about, the statement said.

The steps that can be taken to further develop the cooperation between Turkey and the friendly and brotherly Palestinian State will also be among the agenda items of the meeting.

In the meeting between Erdogan and Netanyahu, the bilateral relations of Turkey and Israel will be reviewed in all their dimensions, as well as the steps needed to be taken to improve cooperation.

During the meetings, it is also envisaged to exchange views on current regional and international issues, as well as bilatera...

02:03

Saudi to Give Cash-Strapped Tunisia $500M in Assistance The Globe Post

Saudi Arabia said it will give Tunisia financial assistance valued at $500 million, including a $100 million grant.

The post Saudi to Give Cash-Strapped Tunisia $500M in Assistance appeared first on The Globe Post.

01:04

Military Situation In Syria On July 20, 2023 (Map Update) "IndyWatch Feed War"

Click to see full-size image

On July 20, the Russian Ministry of Defense recorded no cases of hostilities and ceasefire violations in Idlib region in the past 24 hours;
On July 19, HTS reportedly arrested 11 of their own security and military officers in the town of Maarrat Misrin and Kafraya;
On July 20, Turkish authorities deported 180 people to Syria via Tel Abyad and Ras al-Ain border crossing.

Thursday, 20 July

23:23

Turkish Bayraktar drone sales to Kosovo spark anger in Serbia "IndyWatch Feed War"

Turkish Bayraktar drone sales to Kosovo spark anger in Serbia

As western influence in the Balkans wanes, Turkey's strategic importance in the region re-emerges

Elis Gjevori Thu, 07/20/2023 - 14:23

Kosovos Prime Minister Albin Kurti showcasing the countrys latest purchase of Bayraktar TB2 drones (Albin Kurti/Social Media)

Turkeys decision to supply Kosovo with drones has sparked fury in Serbia which has called it unacceptable".

Tensions between the two neighbours have been on the rise over the last year, culminating last month in violence in northern Kosovo - which has a large Serb minority - and the wounding of Nato soldiers and police officers.

Kosovo accused Belgrade of inciting tensions in the north of the country - that Serbia regards as its own territory - by backing militants attacking state institutions and seeking to undermine the countrys sovereignty.

But it was Kosovos decision to publicise its new military capabilities that have drawn Serbia's ire this week.

Over the weekend Kosovos Prime Minister Albin Kurti, proudly showcased the countrys latest purchase of Bayraktar TB2 drones, a model most recently used in Ukraine against Russian targets to great effect.

Kosovos demonstration of its new defensive hardware was meant as a warning to its powerful neighbour that Pristina would defend itself...

22:31

Russia-Ukraine war: Wheat prices rocket following collapse of Black Sea grain deal "IndyWatch Feed War"

Russia-Ukraine war: Wheat prices rocket following collapse of Black Sea grain deal

Spiralling prices could have a devastating impact on the Middle East, a region heavily reliant on Ukraine for wheat imports

MEE staff Thu, 07/20/2023 - 13:31

A farmer watches as a combine loads grain onto a truck during a wheat harvest near Kyiv, 18 July 2023 (AFP)

Wheat prices have soared as the global economy begins to feel the impact of Russia's withdrawal from the Ukraine grain deal on Monday.

Prices on the European stock exchange jumped by 8.2 percent on Wednesday from the previous day, reaching 253.75 ($284) per tonne, while corn prices rose by 5.4 percent.

Meanwhile, US wheat futures jumped 8.5 percent, marking the highest daily rise since just after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

On Monday, Russia said it had officially notified Turkey, Ukraine, and the UN that it was against extending the Black Sea grain export deal.

The move is likely to have a deeply negative impact on the Middle East and North Africa, which is heavily reliant on Ukraine for wheat.

Prior to the war, Egypt had relied on Russia and Ukraine for 80 percent of its wheat.

The deal - which was broke...

16:19

Judaism as a Self-Terminating Religion "IndyWatch Feed Africa"

Nick Kollerstrom The Unz Review July 18, 2023

Untrue stories exist at each end of Jewish historys three thousand years fictional, fabricated and of immense magnitude. We may start in the tenth century BCE, where archaeologists have after diligent study found no trace of King Solomon, his Temple or his empire. Half a century of intensive excavation of the Holy Land has now reached that conclusion. The alleged mighty empire of David and Solomon, stretching from the Nile to the Euphrates on the basis of which the modern state of Israel was formed did not exist. Meanwhile the Bible makes no mention of the great empire of Egypt, which really did in that period stretch from the Nile to the Euphrates. These things must be relegated to storyland, like Moses parting the Red Sea. Experts were finally attaining this negative conclusion as the new millennium dawned, e.g.

Mythic Past, Biblical Archaeology and the Myth of Israel, Thomas Thompson, 1999
David and Solomon, In search of the Bibles sacred Kings, Israel Finklestein and N.A. Silberman, 2006
The Quest for the Historical Israel, Finklestein and A. Mazar, 2007
The Invention of the Jewish People, Shlomo Sand, 2009
Palestine, a Four Thousand Year History, Nur Masala, 2018.

Moses, Wikipedia assures us, is just a myth. The Exodus, traditionally the basis of Jewish self-identity and the most-told narrative in the western world,[1] spawns great conferences which tend to end up with the same threefold negation:

no evidence for the Children of Israel in Egypt or escaping therefrom,
no evidence of their trekking across the Sinai desert
no evidence of them storming into Canaan and conquering the locals.

In modern times, Jews were given land in Palestine and called it Israel. Inspired by a great hope, their conviction was that archaeology would validate their epic history, as it had unfolded through past millennia. They went to work with a trowel in one hand and the Bible in the other but received a big shock. The Holy Land did indeed reveal to them centuries of devout monotheism during the time recorded by their ancient scriptures but, it was a reverence for the Goddess, as shown by the thousands of figurines dug up everywhere in Judea where they excavated. They were all similar with head, torso and large naked breasts.[2] Nor could any trace be discerned of a fierce invasion of Canaan by the Children of Israel as their texts averred, plus the odd record of their Jehovah-god had him with a partner, his Asherath.

It was discovered that, in the tenth century BCE there had been an intensive drought....

04:57

Turkey, UAE agree to $50bn worth of agreements during Erdogan's visit "IndyWatch Feed Africa"

Turkey, UAE agree to $50bn worth of agreements during Erdogan's visit

Agreements include establishing a 'higher strategic committee' and an extradition agreement, as Turkish president concludes Gulf tour

MEE staff Wed, 07/19/2023 - 19:57

UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan stand for a photograph during an official reception in Abu Dhabi on 19 July 2023.

UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed (R) and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan at an official reception in Abu Dhabi, on 19 July 2023 (Reuters)

The United Arab Emirates and Turkey announced on Wednesday a slew of agreements and memorandums of understanding (MOUs) totalling $50.7bn, as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan completed his tour of Arab Gulf countries looking to secure key investments to boost Ankara's economy.

During a ceremony in Abu Dhabi, Erdogan and UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed committed to a joint agreement and establish a "higher strategic committee" between the UAE and Turkey, according to the Emirati state news outlet, WAM.

In addition to the economic and trade agreements, Ankara and Abu Dhabi agreed on a deal to assist each other on criminal matters, including an extradition agreement between the two countries.

Abu Dhabi was Erdogan's final stop in a Gulf tour which included a visit to Saudi Arabia's Red Sea city of Jeddah and the capital of Qatar, Doha. On Tuesday, Saudi Arabia agreed to two acquisition agreements for Turkish drones - the largest defence contract in Turkey's history with Riyadh.

The Turkish leader has worked to repair diplomatic ties with Riyadh and Abu Dhabi over the last two years after a decade of strained relations over Ankara's support of pro-democracy movements in the Middle East. Turkey also sent troops to Doha when Saudi Arabia and the UAE i...

Wednesday, 19 July

01:24

INTERVIEW: Dr Can Erimtan Turkeys Tango with NATO & Sweden "IndyWatch Feed National"

Turkey and Erdogans tricky tango for Swedens controversial NATO membership bid.

In this episode of the Patrick Henningsen Show on TNT Radio which aired on July 12 2023, Patrick talks with Middle East scholar Dr. Can Erimtan, about Turkey and Erdogans tricky tango between NATO and Swedens controversial membership bid, but also dangling the EU membership issue as well. What is the realistic outcome of this tricky manoeuvre by Turkeys fancy-footed leader? All this and more. Listen: