U.S. President Donald Trump offered NATO allies an unexpected warm embrace as they wrapped up a key summit Wednesday (July 8, 2026) after earlier lashing out at them over their response to his war on Iran.

It was an abrupt swing from antagonism to affection within the space of a few short hours, illustrating the wide range of emotions exhibited by the mercurial U.S. leader.

“It was a great meeting, there was a lot of love in that room, a lot of unity,” Mr. Trump told reporters after the closed-door meeting of 32 heads of state at the NATO summit in the Turkish capital Ankara.

Behind closed doors, Mr. Trump had reassured them he wanted the US to stay in the military alliance, saying: “We want to remain with you”, a source inside the session told AFP.

And that was reflected in the final declaration in which NATO leaders reaffirmed their “ironclad commitment” to the mutual assistance clause enshrined in Article 5 of the alliance treaty.

“An attack on one is an attack on all,” it said, in wording that sought to ease concerns about Washington’s commitment to the alliance.

But the day had not begun well with Mr. Trump lashing out over NATO allies’ failure to back his Iran campaign just before the session, threatening to cut trade with Spain, and insisting he still wants NATO member Denmark’s territory of Greenland.

“I’m very upset with NATO… because of what they did with Greenland, and… because of the fact that they didn’t want to help us with the number one state sponsor of terror, that’s Iran,” he said.

Bark worse than bite

But once he came face-to-face with the leaders behind closed doors, his tone changed markedly, according to the source who attended the talks. “There is a strong contrast between what Trump says in public and what he actually says inside,” he said.

He also dialled down his earlier rhetoric on Iran — in which he described them as “scum” and “vicious, violent people” — with his remarks on the matter “not as harsh”, the source said.

And he made no further mention of Spain or Greenland.

Estonian Prime Minister Kristen Michal agreed that Mr. Trump’s tone in the session was more moderated, saying that he had given a “kind of constructive message… that Europe must step up, invest more in defence”.

“So it was kind of a good mood with sort of constructive messages,” he said.

Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestutis Budrys said Mr. Trump’s outbursts should not necessarily be read as a sign of the alliance fragmenting.

“I wouldn’t see in it an indicator that we are somehow weakening NATO, and that the transatlantic bond is not there,” he said. “I think we should dramatise things less.”

Boost for Ukraine

Stalled efforts to halt the Ukraine war were also back on the agenda, with Mr. Trump pledging to give Kyiv “the right to make” Patriot air-defence missiles as he went into talks with Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy on the sidelines of the summit.

“We’re going to give a licence to you to make Patriots. That’s pretty cool, right,” Mr. Trump told Zelenskyy, whose forces have been struggling to shoot down Russian ballistic missiles as supplies of crucial U.S.-made Patriot interceptors run low.

Despite Moscow’s heavy bombardments in recent days, Kyiv appears to be turning the tide by stabilising the front line and conducting strikes deep into Russia — strikes that Mr. Trump said could help end the war.

“It’s an escalation, but it’s also an escalation that can help lead to an end,” he added, repeating his belief that both Mr. Zelenskyy and Russia’s Vladimir Putin wanted to strike a deal to halt the fighting.

Also in the final NATO declaration, Europe and Canada pledged to keep military support flowing to Ukraine to the tune of 70 billion euros ($80 billion) a year in both 2026 and 2027.

Before leaving Ankara, Mr. Trump was also set to hold talks with Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa as he seeks to rebuild the country’s international image as it emerges from years of civil war.

‘A big win for Trump’

The summit comes at a fraught time for the 77-year-old transatlantic alliance, with Mr. Trump demanding members make good on a pledge to ramp up defence spending as Washington takes a step back from Europe.

Keen to avoid a new confrontation with Mr. Trump, NATO allies unveiled tens of billions in new arms contracts on Tuesday (July 7, 2026) in a bid to prove they were making good on a pledge to hike defence spending.

NATO chief Mark Rutte insisted the alliance was emerging stronger from the summit in Turkey — despite the disagreements.

Published – July 08, 2026 08:15 pm IST

Representative image.
| Photo Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto

Turkey has issued a warning to avoid bootleg alcohol in the country after around 103 people were reported to have been fatally poisoned in two major cities since the new year. According to the Independent, all deaths happened in Ankara and Istanbul, after authorities warned about a rising death toll tied to an increase in illegal alcohol being sold disguised as big-name brands. In Istanbul, 70 people have died since January 14, and in Ankara, 33 have died since January 1. Across the two cities, another 230 were hospitalised in connection with the poisoned “booze” with 40 of those in critical condition, officials said. 

In Turkey, the price of alcohol has spiked in the last few years due to heavy taxes imposed by President Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling AK Party. Alcoholic drink makers have also faced an increasingly onerous tax burden and other restrictions, the outlet reported. Moreover, the Turkish government has again hiked taxes on alcohol and tobacco products for 2025 on 3 January.

This high cost has pushed some consumers, shops, restaurants and bars to rely on bootleg alcohol and homemade drinks, leading to rising poisoning in recent years. 

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Istanbul’s governor’s office last month said it had taken steps to combat bootleg sales and distribution, including mandatory cameras at shops selling alcohol, suspending or revoking sale licences, and carrying out regular inspections. Authorities have arrested 13 people in Ankara and 11 others in Istanbul. They have also reportedly seized 102 tons of methanol and ethanol in Ankara, and over 86,000 litres of bootleg pr smuggled alcohol in Istanbul, as per The Independent. 

Meanwhile, the recent deaths in Turkey come after six tourists, including an American and a backpacker from the United Kingdom, died in Laos after unknowingly consuming methanol-tainted booze. The youngest victim, an Australian woman, was only 19 years old.

File picture of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan
| Photo Credit: AP

Turkey has halted all exports and imports to and from Israel, citing the escalating humanitarian situation in Gaza, announced the Turkish Ministry of Trade, Al Jazeera reported.

“Export and import transactions related to Israel have been stopped, covering all products,” the Ministry said in a statement on May 3.

“Turkey will strictly and decisively implement these new measures until the Israeli Government allows an uninterrupted and sufficient flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza.

“The decision follows remarks by Israel’s foreign minister, who accused Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of violating agreements by obstructing Israeli imports and exports from ports.

“This is how a dictator behaves, disregarding the interests of the Turkish people and businessmen, and ignoring international trade agreements,” Foreign Minister Israel Katz posted on X.

Mr. Katz disclosed that he has directed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to explore alternative trade options with Turkey, focusing on domestic production and imports from other nations. In 2023, the trade volume between the two nations amounted to $6.8 billion.

Last month, Turkey imposed trade restrictions on Israel, alleging Israel’s obstruction of Ankara’s participation in Gaza aid airdrops and its military actions in the region.

When questioned about Turkey’s continued trade relations with Israel despite Ankara’s strong rhetoric, Mr. Erdogan responded last month by stating that Turkey no longer engages in “intense trade” with Israel, asserting, “That is done.”

However, he did not explicitly state that Ankara had completely ceased all trade with Israel, Al Jazeera reported.

Turkey’s main opposition party appeared set to retain its control over key cities in Sunday’s local elections, preliminary results showed, in a major upset to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who had set his sights on retaking control of those urban areas.

With some 20% of the votes counted, incumbent mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, of the Republican People’s Party, or CHP, was leading in Istanbul, Turkey’s largest city and economic hub — according to state broadcaster TRT. Mayor Mansur Yavas, the mayor of the capital Ankara, also appeared poised to retain his seat with a comfortable majority, the results indicated.

The CHP appeared to be leading in 35 of Turkey’s 81 provinces, according to the preliminary results reported by TRT.

The vote was seen as barometer of President Erdogan’s popularity as he sought to win back control of key urban areas he lost to the opposition in elections five years ago. The CHP’s victory in Ankara and Istanbul in 2019, had shattered Mr. Erdogan’s aura of invincibility.

The main battleground for the 70-year-old Turkish president was Istanbul, a city of 16 million people where he was born and raised and where he began his political career as mayor in 1994.

A strong showing for Mr. Erdogan’s ruling Islamic-oriented Justice and Development Party, or AKP, would likely harden his resolve to usher in a new constitution — one that would reflect his conservative values and allow him to rule beyond 2028 when his current term ends, analysts say.

For the opposition — divided and demoralized after a defeat in last year’s presidential and parliamentary elections — keeping Istanbul and Ankara would be a major boost and help remobilize supporters.

Some 61 million people, including more than a million first-time voters, were eligible to cast ballots for all metropolitan municipalities, town and district mayorships as well as neighborhood administrations.

Turnout is traditionally high in Turkey, but this time the vote comes against the backdrop of a cost-of-living crisis. Observers said disillusioned opposition supporters could opt to stay home, doubting that the election will change things. Governing party supporters, meanwhile, could also choose not to go to the polls in protest at the economic downturn that has left many struggling to pay for food, utilities and rent.

Some 594,000 security personnel were on duty across the country to ensure the vote goes smoothly. Nevertheless, one person was killed and eleven others were hurt in the city of Diyarbakir where a dispute over the election of a neighborhood administrator turned violent, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported. At least six people were also injured in fighting that erupted in the nearby province of Sanliurfa.

“According to the data we have obtained, it seems our citizens’ trust in us, their faith in us has paid off,” Mr. Imamoglu said of the early results.

Polls had pointed to a close race between Istanbul’s incumbent mayor, Mr. Imamoglu, and the AKP’s candidate Murat Kurum, a former urbanization and environment minister.

Mr. Imamoglu — a popular figure touted as a possible future challenger to President Erdogan — ran without the support of some of the parties that helped him to victory in 2019.

Both the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party and the nationalist IYI Party fielded their own candidates in the race.

A six-party opposition alliance led by CHP disintegrated after it failed to oust President Erdogan in last year’s election, unable to capitalize on the economic crisis and the government’s initially poor response to last year’s devastating earthquake that killed more than 53,000 people.

Hamish Kinnear, a senior Middle East and North Africa analyst at risk intelligence company Verisk Maplecroft, said that if Mr. Imamoglu hangs on in Istanbul, “he will be well placed to unify the fractious opposition and launch a bid for the presidency in 2028.”

However, losing Istanbul would deal a significant blow to both Mr. Imamoglu and the opposition, Mr. Kinnear said.

Meanwhile, a new religious-conservative party, the New Welfare Party, or YRP, is appealing to voters who have been disillusioned with President Erdogan’s handling of the economy and was expected to draw some votes away from his candidates.

In Turkey’s mainly Kurdish-populated southeast, the DEM Party was poised to win many of the municipalities but it’s unclear whether it would be allowed to retain them. In previous years, Erdogan’s government removed elected pro-Kurdish mayors from office for alleged links to Kurdish militants and replaced them with state-appointed trustees.

Mr. Erdogan, who has presided over Turkey for more than two decades — as prime minister since 2003 and president since 2014 — has been advocating a new constitution that would put family values at the forefront. He does not have sufficient votes to enact a new constitution now, but a strong showing could allow him to woo some conservative, nationalist or Islamic legislators from the opposition camp for a needed two-thirds majority.

Berk Esen, an associate professor of political sciences at Istanbul’s Sabanci University, said Mr. Erdogan is pushing for a new constitution “more conservative than the current version” to expand and define his legacy.

This is where the local elections come in.

“This would be a big opportunity for Erdogan to leave his political imprint,” Mr. Esen said.

Turkey’s main opposition party retained its control over key cities and made huge gains elsewhere in Sunday’s local elections, in a major upset to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who had set his sights on retaking control of those urban areas.

With more than 90% of ballot boxes counted, incumbent Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu, of the Republican People’s Party, or CHP, was leading by a wide margin in Turkey’s largest city and economic hub, according to the state-run Anadolu Agency. Mansur Yavas, the mayor of the capital, Ankara, retained his seat with a stunning 25-point difference over his challenger, the results indicated.

In all, the CHP won the municipalities of 36 of Turkey’s 81 provinces, according to Anadolu, making inroads into many strongholds of Erdogan’s party. It gained 37% of the votes nationwide, compared to 36% for the president’s party, marking the CHP’s greatest electoral victory since President Erdogan came to power two decades ago.

Mr. Erdogan acknowledged the electoral setback in a speech delivered from the balcony of the presidential palace, saying his party had suffered “a loss of altitude” across Turkey. The people delivered a “message” that his party will “analyse” by engaging in “courageous” self-criticism, he said.

“Unfortunately, nine months after our victory in the May 28 elections, we could not get the result we wanted in the local election test,” Mr. Erdogan added. “We will correct our mistakes and redress our shortcomings.”

He vowed to press ahead with an economic program introduced last year that aims to combat inflation.

The vote was seen as a barometer of Mr. Erdogan’s popularity as he sought to win back control of key urban areas he lost to the opposition in elections five years ago. The CHP’s victory in Ankara and Istanbul in 2019 had shattered Erdogan’s aura of invincibility.

The main battleground for the 70-year-old Turkish president was Istanbul, a city of 16 million people where he was born and raised and where he began his political career as mayor in 1994.

The result came as a boost for the opposition, which was left divided and demoralized after a defeat to Mr. Erdogan and his ruling Islamic-oriented Justice and Development Party, or AKP, in last year’s presidential and parliamentary elections.

“The voters decided to establish a new political order in Turkey,” CHP leader Ozgur Ozel told a crowd of jubilant supporters. “Today, the voters decided to change the 22-year-old picture in Turkey and open the door to a new political climate in our country.”

A large crowd, meanwhile, gathered outside Ankara City Hall to celebrate Mr. Yavas’ victory. “Ankara is proud of you!” supporters chanted.

Sinan Ulgen, director of the Istanbul-based Edam think tank, said “the surprising outcome” was due to voters wanting to punish the ruling party over the “depth of an economic malaise.” Skyrocketing inflation has left many Turkish households struggling to afford basic goods.

AKP supporters opted to stay away from the ballot stations or voted for other parties, Mr. Ulgen said.

“Turnout was relatively low compared to past elections,” he said. “There were cross-party shifts in the vote, which did not happen in the nationals elections because of stronger ideological attachments. This time around the economy prevailed over identity.”

Some 61 million people, including more than a million first-time voters, were eligible to cast ballots for all metropolitan municipalities, town and district mayorships as well as neighborhood administrations.

Turnout was around 76%, according to the state-run Anadolu Agency, compared to 87% last year.

Some 594,000 security personnel were on duty across the country to ensure the vote goes smoothly. Nevertheless, one person was killed and 11 others were hurt in the city of Diyarbakir where a dispute over the election of a neighborhood administrator turned violent, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported. At least six people were also injured in fighting that erupted in the nearby province of Sanliurfa.

“According to the data we have obtained, it seems our citizens’ trust in us, their faith in us has paid off,” Mr. Imamoglu said of the early results.

Mr. Imamoglu won 50.6% of the votes in Istanbul, while AKP candidate Murat Kurum, a former urbanization and environment minister, received 40.5%, according to Anadolu. Opinion polls had pointed to a close race between the two.

Mr. Imamoglu — a popular figure touted as a possible future challenger to President Erdogan — ran without the support of some of the parties that helped him to victory in 2019. Both the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party and the nationalist IYI Party fielded their own candidates in the race.

A six-party opposition alliance led by CHP disintegrated after it failed to oust President Erdogan in last year’s election, unable to capitalize on the economic crisis and the government’s initially poor response to last year’s devastating earthquake that killed more than 53,000 people.

Mr. Ulgen said the result has thrust Imamoglu into the role of possible leader of the opposition to challenge Erdogan for the presidency in 2028.

“This outcome has certainly been a watershed for Imamoglu,” he said. “He will emerge as the natural candidate of the opposition for the next round of presidential elections.

Meanwhile, a new religious-conservative party, the New Welfare Party, or YRP, is appealing to voters who have been disillusioned with President Erdogan’s handling of the economy.

In Turkey’s mainly Kurdish-populated southeast, the DEM Party was poised to win many of the municipalities but it’s unclear whether it would be allowed to retain them. In previous years, Erdogan’s government removed elected pro-Kurdish mayors from office for alleged links to Kurdish militants and replaced them with state-appointed trustees.

Analysts said a strong showing for Erdogan’s party would have hardened his resolve to usher in a new constitution — one that would reflect his conservative values and allow him to rule beyond 2028 when his current term ends.

Mr. Erdogan, who has presided over Turkey for more than two decades — as prime minister since 2003 and president since 2014 — has been advocating a new constitution that would put family values at the forefront.

An exchange of fire began in Rajouri’s Kalakote between hiding militants and security forces. File representative image
| Photo Credit: PTI

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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. File
| Photo Credit: AFP

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday that the terrorists who carried out a bomb attack in front of the Interior Ministry in Ankara failed in their “latest attempt” to threaten citizens’ peace and security.

They “have not achieved their goals and will never achieve them,” he told members of parliament, adding in the speech that Turkey will continue to ensure that its southern borders are secure from outside militants.

Turkish policemen and security forces cordon off an area next to a car after an explosion in Ankara, on October 1, 2023.
| Photo Credit: AP

 A suicide bomber detonated an explosive device in the heart of the Turkish capital, Ankara, on October 1, hours before parliament was scheduled to reopen after a three-month summer recess. A second assailant was killed in a shootout with police, the Interior Minister said.

Two police officers were slightly injured during the attack near an entrance to the Ministry of Interior Affairs, Minister Ali Yerlikaya said on X (formerly, Twitter).

The attack occurred as parliament was set to re-open with an address by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

There was no immediate information on the assailants. Kurdish and far-left militant groups as well as the Islamic State group have carried out deadly attacks throughout the country in the past.

Mr. Yerlikaya said the assailants arrived at the scene inside a light commercial vehicle.

Television footage showed bomb squads working near a parked vehicle in the area which is located near the Turkish Grand National Assembly and other government buildings. A rocket launcher could be seen lying near the vehicle.

Justice Minister Yilmaz Tunc said an investigation has been launched into the “terror attack.”

“These attacks will in no way hinder Turkey’s fight against terrorism,” he wrote on X. “Our fight against terrorism will continue with more determination.”

Police cordoned off access to the city center and increased security measures, warning citizens that they would be conducting controlled explosions of suspicious packages.

The two police officers were being treated in a hospital and were not in serious condition, media reports said.