Kaan

Advisor @theDragomans Prev: @deikiletisim, @taikofficial, @sabanciu, @OneYoungWorld, @AtlanticCouncil #FutureNATO Fellow ‘16, @sabanciu & @fmv1885 alumnus.

[Ragıp Soylu @ragipsoylu]

The most important NATO summit story isn’t Turkish defence industry or Europe ramping up efforts to fill the gaps left by the US.

It is Ankara’s booming food scene!

Here is a guide I put up together for travellers to Ankara next week. Enjoy!

https://t.co/gXreBXuhxi

[Defense News @defense_news]

Canada looks for lessons in Turkey's effort to nurse a homegrown industrial ecosystem for making vital defense equipment, a senior Canadian official said. https://t.co/TytqABSqkZ

[Sinan Tavsan @SinanTavsan]

日・トルコ、防衛装備品の協力加速で合意　企業がマッチング会 - 日本経済新聞 https://t.co/HLMVysy9nH @halukgorgun @haluk @SavunmaSanayii @BaykarTech @TUSAS_TR @aselsan

[Geopolitical Intelligence Services @GIS_Reports]

What if apparent inconsistency is, in fact, a calculated strategy?
GIS expert Alper Coskun @iacoskun offers a nuanced look at Turkiye’s balancing act between East and West, showing how selective partnerships and strategic autonomy have become deliberate tools of influence for middle powers, rather than mere signs of uncertainty. In an era of shifting global rules and eroding traditional alignments, Turkiye’s approach may prove less an exception than a preview of the future.

📎 Read the full report here: https://t.co/uipjI6Nyqs

[Ragıp Soylu @ragipsoylu]

NEW: Turkey and UK sign a Strategic Partnership Framework document today, which will enable both countries

“to strengthen their co-operation on
shared challenges by working more closely to promote global security increasing co-operation and co-ordination within NATO, including
strengthening the European pillar, enhancing defence capability and industry co-operation,”

[Timothy Ash @tashecon]

I would suggest as penance for Ursula VdL, for the insults to Türkiye, she agrees to jump out of a Turkish military plane (with a parachute I would add, I am being generous), and this will assure the European - Turkish relationship.

[NATO Spokesperson @NATOpress]

Preparations are well underway for the #NATOsummit in Ankara!

We’re grateful to our Ally Türkiye 🇹🇷 for hosting leaders on 7-8 July 2026 for what will be an important meeting to further strengthen transatlantic security

[NATO @NATO]

❝NATO will always do whatever is necessary to defend Türkiye and all Allies.❞

— @SecGenNATO is visiting Türkiye 🇹🇷

Watch the full speech → https://t.co/fT4SdhVZES

[Kaan @kaanozguney]

Sabancı -> herkes ve her şeyden uzak saf ve steril kampüsümüzde öyle bir bubble içindeyiz ki böyle ezber ve ideoloji kalıplaşmalarından uzağız neyse ki

[Merve Karataş @drmervekaratas]

Türkiye'de sosyal bilimler tam liste:

Mülkiye -> Otoriter rejimde yaşarken hâlâ devletin o kutsal ceberrut ruhunu arayıp modernleşme sancılarını Tanzimat'tan kalma reçetelerle çözmeye çalışıyorlar.

ODTÜ -> Devrim Stadyumu'nda otururken Türkiye'nin neoliberal bir sistem ile yönetildiğini zannederek endeksleri sallamadan ağlıyorlar.

Galatasaray -> Beyoğlu'nun arka sokaklarındaki kaosu flâneur edasıyla izleyip bunu Foucault sosuyla servis etmeyi entelektüellik olarak görüyorlar.

Koç & Bilgi -> Senin toplumsal acılarını data sete dönüştürüp yurt dışındaki konferanslarda egzotik Ortadoğu tecrübesi diye sunuyorlar.

Boğaziçi -> Aşiyan yamaçlarından Türkiye'ye bakarken memleketin temel sorunlarını post-kolonyal söylem ve toplumsal cinsiyet performativitesi olarak yorumluyorlar.

İstanbul Üni -> Fotokopicilerde çoğaltılan sararmış ders notları ve emekliliği gelmiş hocaların "Bizim zamanımızda akademi başkaydı yaw." melankolisi eşliğinde 1950'lerin sosyoloji ekollerini kutsal metin gibi ezberliyorlar.

Gibi gibi...
Many such cases.

[Akin Unver @AkinUnver]

Arasaka isnt actually evil; it had to do what it had to do because contextual geopolitics would punish other courses of action

[Kaan @kaanozguney]

Similar videos used to be Iran’s gig. How the tables have turned 🤷🏼‍♂️

[The White House @WhiteHouse]

UNDEFEATED.

[Kaan @kaanozguney]

Overworked and underpaid

[Polymarket @Polymarket]

BREAKING: Anthropic CEO says Claude may or may not have gained consciousness, as the model has begun showing symptoms of anxiety.

[Clash Report @clashreport]

Turkish Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Öncü Keçeli:

We find the recent statements made in violation of the demilitarized status of the Aegean Islands to be unserious, unfortunate, and ill-timed.

Within the framework of the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne and the 1947 Paris Peace Treaty, there is no matter open to debate regarding the objective legal status of the Eastern Aegean Islands and the Dodecanese, which were placed under a demilitarized regime.

In this context, it is not surprising that certain circles—seeking to exploit recent developments in our region and consistently attempting to poison bilateral relations with our NATO ally Greece at every opportunity—are once again trying to create a new fait accompli.

Any step taken by these circles, which accuse Türkiye of revisionism, in violation of international law will be considered null and void. Even more striking is the fact that the same mentality which once sought to eliminate the Turkish Cypriots—co-owners of the island of Cyprus—now claims it will also protect them. We wish to make it clear that the Turkish Cypriots and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, with the support of their motherland and guarantor Türkiye, are fully capable of ensuring their own security and are not dependent on anyone else.

Recent developments in our region once again highlight the importance of a sincere commitment to peace and stability. We take this opportunity to remind those who, driven by domestic political motives, habitually make unfounded claims and spread disinformation against our country that we will not allow any faits accomplis, and we call on them to act with common sense.

[Clash Report @clashreport]

Turkish MoD:

The activities of structures such as the terrorist organization PJAK, which fuel ethnic separatism, negatively affect not only Iran’s security but also the overall peace and stability of the region.

We are closely monitoring the activities carried out by the terrorist organization PJAK in Iran and the developments in the region in close coordination with the relevant institutions of our state.

[Oral Toğa @OralToga]

Biraz haber takibi yapmayayım, önümdeki işi yapayım diyorum ama "Binlerce Iraklı Kürt İran'a operasyon başlattı" diye bir şey görünce dayanamadım. Aşağıda madde madde yazacağım:

📌 Öncelikle bu linkte paylaştığım rapor 2024 yılı içinde dört ayımı vererek hazırladığım Süleymaniye raporum: https://t.co/dxUOfOPtUi

📌Bu raporda da çok net görüleceği üzere İran'ın Süleymaniye'deki hakimiyeti çok güçlü. İstediği adamı aldırıyor, istediği adamı öldürüyor vs. Bir otele kayıt yaptığınızda birkaç saatte bilgilerinizin İran istihbaratının eline gittiğine yönelik iddialar bile var.

📌 Çok öz değineceğim: İran ekonomik olarak burada çok dominant. Bafel Talabani, İran'ın onayı olmadan burada bir adım atamaz. Zaten maaşları ödeyemiyor Süleymaniye'de. Millet protesto üstüne protesto yapıyor. Sınır komşusu İran'a kara harekatına mı girecek?

📌Yine çok öz değineceğim: Erbil yönetiminde oturmuş bir sistem var. Öyle ki artık bölge için cazibe merkezi durumunda. İran'daki yüksek işsizlik oranına sahip bölgelerden gelen Kürtler direkt Erbil'e göç edip iş arıyorlar. Şimdi bu "binlerce Kürt" bu düzenin yıkılması pahasına mı harekete geçtiler İran'a karşı?

📌İran-Irak arası bağlar çok güçlü. İran istihbaratının varlığı da öyle. Bu uçakların sonsuza kadar İran gökyüzünde kalmadığını bilmiyor mu buradaki aşiretler ve gruplar? Geçmişte denenmiş örneklerde neler olduğunu bilmiyorlar mı? Koca SSCB geldi, İran'ı işgal etti, kendi eliyle devlet kurdu, ömrü bir seneyi bulmadı.

📌 İran'a saldıran bu binlerce Kürt nerede toplanmış? Nereden geçmişler? Hangi sınır bölgesinden geçmişler? Çatışma şu an nerede oluyormuş? Üç bina şaşalı şekilde havaya uçurulunca İran'ın bölgedeki bütün varlığı son mu buluyor? Hiç mi İran'la birlikte çalışan yereller yok? Hiç mi besic yok? Hiç mi başka etnikler yok? Kürtler ellerini kollarını sallayıp şehirleri düşürürken bu etnikler öyle uzaktan mı izleyecekmiş?

📌 Bütün gün Irak'taki partilerden bu olaylara dahil olmayacaklarına dair açıkalamar geldi, herkes bu açıklamarı görmezden geldi; Fox'tan birinin ABD'li biri bana böyle söyledi açıklamasını baz aldı. Hakikaten bu da ilginç bir konu. Yeter ki bir şey Batı basınına yansısın. Diğer her şey yalan oluyor.

📌 İran'da bütün Kürtler bağımsızlık aşkıyla yanıp tutuşuyormuş gibi bir algının kaynağı nedir mesela? Olaylar büyüdüğünde Şii Kürtler, Sünni Kürtlere saldırmak için fetva istediler vaktinde. Böyle tarihi gerçeklikleri nereye koyacağız mesela?

📌 Şehirleşmiş ve aşiret bağları neredeyse kalmamış tonla insan var. Bunlar bir grubun tabanı. Kırsaldakiler başka grubun tabanı. Ancak toplasan toplasan İKDP'nin 2000 savaşçısı ya var ya yok. PJAK da suyunu sıksan 5000 kişi anca çıkarır. Bu kadar adamla mı bölge kontrolü yapacaklar?

📌İran'daki Kürtler aptal mı ki hemen "saldırın" deyince topa girsinler? SDG'nin başına gelenleri sizce onlar da görmüyorlar mı? Tarihte olan biteni hatırlamıyorlar mı? Ayrıca hepsinin İran'dan hoşnutsuz olduğu algısının kaynağı nedir?

📌 Son sözüm şu olsun: ABD ve İsrail'in stratejik sıkışmışlığı olarak okuyorum ben bu çabayı. Eğer ben bunu böyle görüyorsam sahadaki adam benden daha iyi görür ve okur. Hiçbir kara unsurunu sokamadığı için böyle hikayeler geliştirmeye çalışıyorlar. İran 90 milyonluk bir ülke. Bir seferberlik ilanına bakar bunu bastırmak.

[Dünya Başol @dunya_basol]

Whenever there is talk about Kurds, people tend to accept Kurds as a single entity, "Kurds want this," "Kurds will do that." This type of generalization is completely reductive, and the same goes for Iranian Kurds.

📍 Shiite Kurds asked for a fatwa to attack Sunni Kurds during the Islamic Revolution, they received it, and they acted on it. The result was a series of clashes in the southern Urmia lake region.

📍 Kermanshah is a stronghold of the regime and is known to be deeply integrated with the Iranian state. The reasons are too numerous to explain in an X post, but traditionally it has always been a real "city," not a "town," and hosted a central Iranian bureaucratic presence while maintaining a degree of local autonomy that kept its citizens content during the Ardalan Emirate under the Iranian Empire.

📍 On Kurdish majority maps in Iran, the Lors and Bakhtiari, contrary to popular belief, have long disconnected from the main Kurdish ethnos, and the Bakhtiari in particular are known as defenders of the "state" (not the regime), similar to the situation of the Circassians in Turkey. The Kurdish nationalist discourse insisting on including Zazas, Lors, Bakhtiari, and Yazidis has been pushing them toward a distinct ethnic crystallization for the past three decades, accelerating that disconnection.

📍 Then there are the historic differences between Iranian and Iraqi Kurdish parties. PDKI and PDK relations have traditionally been very sour, owing to the PDK's alliance with Iran against the PDKI for many years. The PUK in Iran has long maintained symbiotic relations with the Iranian state due to historical ties. Komala and PAK have very low manpower and a limited area of influence. PJAK has been perceived by many Iranian Kurds as a collaborator of Tehran, given that it has maintained a ceasefire since 2011, and whenever Iran is shaken by protests, PJAK does nothing unlike PDKI, PAK, and Komala, whose peshmerga enter cities during periods of unrest whenever possible, especially in Ushnu, Bokan, Sanandaj, Piranshahr, and Bijar.

📍 The northern parts of the Urmia lake region, essentially the Turkish border strip, has no Kurdish-majority towns. The three main cities, Khoy, Maku, and Urmia, are mixed but have a dominant Turkish population both economically and demographically. Urmia in particular has experienced significant ethnic tensions since the time of Molla Heseni in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The rest of the strip consists mostly of mountain villages with strong tribal and cross-border ties to Kurds on the Turkish side, particularly in Yuksekova (Gewer), where these cross-border tribal ties are especially strong.

📍 Unlike in Iraq, Turkey has a valid pretext, given attacks by Kurdish armed groups, particularly PJAK, in the borderlands and around Urmia, to quickly establish a buffer zone, as the mountain ranges there are less challenging than those in Iraq.

📍 The unity of the Kurds is also another question. They have clashed among themselves many times, and while currently united against an external force, only PJAK has the necessary experience and manpower to achieve their goals. Yet PJAK is something of an "outsider" to the other Iranian Kurdish movements. Just as they did to the PDK-S in Syria, they could swiftly marginalize all other parties, but the local population holds such deep respect for the memory of Dr. Ghassemlou that they will not accept PJAK's ideology, which has already been seen leading to catastrophe in Syria.

📍 Furthermore, Iranian Kurds, even rural villagers,have a markedly different mentality compared to rural Kurdish nationalism in Turkey, Syria, and PDK areas in Iraqi Kurdistan. The closest parallel is to the Sulaymaniyah of the PUK. It is based more on an intellectual and enlightened leftism, not rural nationalism with primordial elements or weird ecological-democratic anarcho-system asking for brotherhood of all nations without borders.

📍 Lastly, Iraqi Kurdish parties have long-standing, very long-standing,relations with Iran, going back to the Qajar era. Iran is feared, and the relationships between Iraqi Kurds, their armed movements, and Tehran have always been more fraught than those with Ankara. Turkey is a hard power, yet Iran has far deeper roots, connections, and diplomatic reach, and every vein of Iraqi Kurdistan has been shaped by Iranian influence for centuries. It is no easy task to ask and convince the PUK and KDP to attack or provide logistics to Iranian Kurdish parties with whom they have historically had troubled relations.

📍 Once again, Mukriyan has always been the core of Kurdish nationalism in Iran, much like the Botan region in Turkey and the Rawanduz-Bradost line in Iraq, but the rest of Iranian Kurds maintain close ties with Iran in every sense, unlike Syrian Kurds, who were denied Syrian IDs, or Iraqi Kurds, who were literally gassed with chemical weapons. Iran has always practiced an "inclusive nationalism" that acknowledged the Kurdish identity and honored it, and it will be difficult to sever that sentiment.

📍 Much of this draws on the field research I conducted for my PhD thesis on Iranian Kurds, as illustrated by the examples above.

[Jack Raines @Jack_Raines]

European diplomats when war breaks out outside of standard 9-5 working hours:

[Kaan @kaanozguney]

This Monroe playbook really shines when your neighbours are as chill as Canada and Mexico and you’ve got two massive oceans keeping geopolitical structures a few thousand kilometers away. 🤷🏼‍♂️

[Clash Report @clashreport]

Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett:

They're not going to love us. The aspiration that the world will love Israel, it's not going to happen.

What we need is that our enemies fear us, our friends respect us, and everyone needs us.

We tried the love us thing for about 3,000 years. Didn't work.

[Velina Tchakarova @vtchakarova]

My gravest takeaways from Zelensky‘s speech is that the richest nations in the world with the biggest common market are not capable & willing to produce missiles and air-defence systems at scale after four years of the most brutal war on the old continent since the end of WW2.