Murat Oztaskin

Middle East editor @business, previously editorial staff @newyorker. Opinions my own

[Bloomberg @business]

Turkey and Egypt have blocked a cruise ship carrying more than 1,900 LGBTQ tourists from entering their ports, with the former citing a supposed threat to Turkish society https://t.co/BhfZIXLqqo

[Bloomberg @business]

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s parting gift to the NATO leaders he hosted this week was a revolver, and an accidental expose of squeamish European attitudes to firearms https://t.co/2LwsCqSKgs

[Murat Oztaskin @MuratOztaskin]

Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa could visit the sidelines of the NATO summit in Ankara next month -- the latest indication the US and Europe are trying to draw Syria closer to themselves and away from Al-Assad's former backers, Iran and Russia
https://t.co/hUSx9NdRem

[Murat Oztaskin @MuratOztaskin]

Under US and EU pressure, Turkey announces plans to open a long-shuttered Greek Orthodox seminary that had trained generations of Church leaders. The latest improvement in Turkey-US relations before Trump visits a NATO summit in Ankara next month.

https://t.co/zJ2ToqnX5O

[Bloomberg @business]

NATO deployed an Italian SAMP/T missile-defense system in the central Anatolian city of Konya https://t.co/nm1I4gzjT9

[Bloomberg @business]

Turkey is seeking higher oil flows through a crucial pipeline that runs through its territory from northern Iraq https://t.co/mx4fkzPkIz

[Bloomberg @business]

Investors are increasing bets that Turkey’s central bank will need to raise interest rates, as higher energy costs keep inflation elevated and a political crisis puts pressure on the lira https://t.co/3v3CyhApZT

[Bloomberg @business]

A Turkish court decision to remove the leadership of the country’s main opposition party caused the main index to tumble to its lowest in six weeks, then reverse losses within the day. @MuratOztaskin explains what this could mean for markets and longtime president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan https://t.co/dAiWuNIZu8

[Murat Oztaskin @MuratOztaskin]

A court ruling has removed the leader of Turkey's main opposition party and replaced him with a polarizing figure who failed to unseat Erdogan in the last presidential election.

https://t.co/iprvKaGVrz

[Bloomberg @business]

Turkey’s central bank revised its year-end inflation target, citing the effects of higher energy prices resulting from the US-Israeli war on Iran https://t.co/8B8uLuD9aO

[Murat Oztaskin @MuratOztaskin]

@LiselHintz Congratulations!

[Bloomberg @business]

US intelligence indicates that China is preparing to provide Iran with air defense systems in a matter of weeks, CNN reported. Beijing is expected to ship shoulder-fired, surface-to-air missiles known as Man-Portable Air Defense Systems. https://t.co/Cv8MspAzcb

[Dan Williams @DanWilliams]

Israel will take control of large parts of southern Lebanon and prevent more than 600,000 residents from returning to their homes as part of the campaign against Hezbollah. (with ⁦@JoumannaTV⁩) https://t.co/OtsvtV6O1y

[Murat Oztaskin @MuratOztaskin]

Iran is Turkey's third-largest supplier of natural gas. That flow stopped after Israel's strike on the South Pars gas field last week. Scoop from @pat_syk and @SelcanHacaoglu

https://t.co/sOtfRbQBJB

[Murat Oztaskin @MuratOztaskin]

Turkish Central Bank mulling gold-for-foreign-currency swaps to help bolster the lira in the face of pressures from the Iran war -- scoop from @berilakman and @KerimKarakayaEM

https://t.co/g7ScTjUsRi

[Joumanna Nasr Bercetche @JoumannaTV]

Excellent from BBG defense lead @becca_wasser on Iran’s projectile launches

A couple of observations
🔷 Iran has retained the capacity to fire an average of five ballistic missiles and 15 drones every day in the past week

🔷 While total Iranian launches have declined, attacks are increasingly hitting targets with economic value. Drones comprise the bulk of attacks.

🔷 The UAE continues to bear the brunt of attacks, but Saudi Arabia is increasingly in Iran’s crosshairs. The kingdom was hit by over 300 drone attacks in the past week, the highest in the region.

🔷 The slowdown in launches likely reflects some level of degradation to Iran’s missile and drone arsenals. It’s also likely driven by a mix of operational constraints and deliberate strategy

Link to newsletter (sign up) https://t.co/3FSn3kW9sC

[Ben Bartenstein @BenBartenstein]

Before today’s decision, we spent more than a year tracking Mojtaba’s global property empire.

You can read the investigation at the gift link here:

https://t.co/98AfOcmFed

[Murat Oztaskin @MuratOztaskin]

NATO systems intercepted a Turkey-bound Iranian missile for the second time in a week.

https://t.co/4cbbLc4iSg

[Louisa Loveluck @leloveluck]

“The reporting of wars seems to have been inverted; what the powerful say and do is being reported first, and the killing of innocents is mentioned in passing, if at all.” https://t.co/gf110HsjVj

[beril a. @berilakman]

Turkey’s central bank is set to hit the pause button on interest-rate cuts in March as a spike in energy costs amid the conflict in Iran threatens the country’s disinflation efforts, according to traders and some economists || story with @Daphniful https://t.co/2Kdfkwpean