Sinan Ciddi

YouTube video by FDD Sinan Ciddi on why Turkey is pushing an Iran deal – i24 News

Why is 🇹🇷 throwing the kitchen sink to prevent US military action against Iran?

I explain @i24news.bsky.social 👇

Turkish foreign minister warns of nuclear arms race if Iran gets the bomb Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan warned on February 9 that Ankara may pursue nuclear weapons if Iran acquires them, signaling a potential shift from rhetorical grievance to a conditional prolifera...

Tehran has some bad habits. Chief among them is the regime's nuclear and chemical weapons program

Guess which neighboring country is also considering the acquisition of nuclear weapons?

My latest for Long War Journal w/my FDD colleague Will Doran

‘We Don’t Care What Others Say’: Turkey Won’t Withdraw Its Troops From Syria Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler could not have been blunter. “We have no agenda for withdrawing or leaving those areas,” Guler told the Turkish daily Hurriyet when asked whether Turkey...

Turkey declares it will not leave Syria

If I got a $1 for every time I said this in 2025 and have people not believe me, I'd be a rich man

My latest policy brief co-authored w/my FDD colleague Ahmad Sharawi

As Iran tensions mount, beware the hidden hand of this two-faced US ‘ally’ The diplomatic tug-of-war over US-Iran negotiations is a win for Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey’s Islamist strongman, who has led a cynical campaign to block military action against Tehran.

NATO ally or Iran enabler? As Tehran teeters, Turkey isn’t helping bring down the mullahs — it’s helping them

Erdogan fears a free Iran more than a tyrannical one. Washington must wake up to Ankara’s dangerous game.

My latest for NYPost column w/ William Doran

🔥Out tomorrow: February 3 🔥

Who will succeed Erdogan as 🇹🇷 next President?

Who are the contenders, what are rules, and what are the implications?

FDD's signature research that I have worked on w/ my colleague Will Doran will be available to download 6am EST 2/3

Erdogan chooses the ayatollahs over the Iranian people The Turkish government is failing to hold the Iranian regime responsible for massacring its own people.

If Washington takes military action against the regime in Tehran, 🇹🇷 will work to protect the mullahs

Read our latest for Washington Examiner to understand why👇

Turkey’s Strategic Support for the Maduro Regime Deserves Attention Deposed Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro long had a friend in President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. In addition to diplomatic cover, under the Turkish leader, the regime in Caracas received an economic life...

In my latest policy brief for @FDD I argue

“Given the persistence of the Venezuelan regime, Maduro’s personal fate should not constitute grounds for granting Turkey immunity for violations of U.S. sanctions” www.fdd.org/analysis/202...

potential naval access could let Erdogan project power into the Indian Ocean, threaten key trade routes, and unsettle regional balances. Allies should be alarmed by the Ankara-Islamabad axis.

Erdogan’s Courtship of Pakistan Stirs Fears of a Nuclear-Armed Turkey Given the two nations' uniquely poor records on counterterrorism and regional aggression, the Ankara-Islamabad ties warrant concern.

In our final piece for 2025 for @NewYorkSun my @FDD colleague Will Doran explore 🇹🇷 growing embrace of nuclear-armed 🇵🇰 isn’t benign commerce—it’s strategic positioning. Energy deals, drone production, and...1/2

We argue this underscores why 🇹🇷 shouldn’t rejoin the F-35 program and why Washington should more strongly back trilateral cooperation as a stabilizing bloc. 3/3

and regional dominance efforts in the Eastern Med. Ankara’s rhetoric is matched by aggressive military posture toward NATO allies and moves to track Israeli aircraft from Syria.2/3

Turkey Decries Cyprus–Greece–Israel Security Talks A new “axis of evil” has arisen in the eastern Mediterranean Sea — at least according to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s slavish media. The sharp reaction was brought about by a trilateral...

🇹🇷 lashes out at a deepening 🇬🇷 🇨🇾 🇮🇱security partnership born out of the Dec. 22 Jerusalem summit — a move Ankara sees as encirclement, but w/signals a strategic pushback against 🇹🇷 irredentism...1/3

Our latest policy brief for FDD w/Will Doran www.fdd.org/analysis/202...

Reporting that Erdogan wants Putin to take back S-400s.

And my question is why would Putin agree to that? The benefits of keeping Turkey and the US at odds is, intrinsically, a win. And was from the moment that Erdogan agreed to purchase them.

How Turkey Props up Venezuela The government of Recep Tayyip Erdogan has provided an unexpected sanctions evasion lifeline for Nicolas Maduro’s Venezuela.

From sheltering narco-barons to engaging in narco-trafficking to 🇪🇺, the government of Erdogan provides a sanctions evasion lifeline for Nicolas Maduro’s Venezuela

Why is the 🇺🇸 overlooking this? My latest for
The National Interest w/ FDD colleague Will Doran

Another opportunity for Demiroren!

IDF reveals Hamas financial network operating in Turkey The Israeli military and Shin Bet reported on a Hamas financial network operating in Turkey under direct Iranian supervision and moving hundreds of millions of dollars through Turkish-based money chan...

Why is 🇹🇷 at the center of a terrorist financial network, channeling Iranian monies to Hamas?

And this is the same country that thinks it deserves F-35's from the 🇺🇸 ?

My latest for Long War Journal & FDD

I have no doubt over RTE's willingness and ability to negotiate away Europe's security with Putin over a Samovar of tea and biscuits :)))

President Erdogan’s Decapitation of the Turkish Opposition The US and NATO need to stand up for what remains of Turkey’s democracy.

Erdogan put Imamoglu in jail. The question is, is Mansur Yavas next? It's clear Erdogan won't stop to crush opposition as he tries to groom his son to succeed him

Why does 🇪🇺 still think it can trust this thuggish regime?

Our latest for The National Interest with William Doran

London’s Eurofighter sale to Turkey: A win for industry, a loss for strategy - Breaking Defense Approving the sale of Eurofighters to Turkey may have had good optics. but it undermines NATO's collective security, argues Sinan Ciddi from the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

Not mincing my words here in my latest for @breakingdefense.com

London's Eurofighter sale is a win for 🇹🇷, but a strategic blunder that history will remember

What can I say Nate-the secret is moisturizer 😂

The good old days when we had only had to speculate about Erdogan's bad intentions. Wilson's comment about 200 journos being in jail as "a lot" ––priceless

YouTube video by Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED) Turkish Democracy: A Model Abroad, Troubled at Home?

My friend @sinanciddi.bsky.social found this old panel discussion of Turkey and human rights from (2012). We were both much younger and much handsomer. The funniest thing about it was the audience was not very happy... Sinan and I were simply too harsh on the AKP

www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbpE...

YouTube video by Project on Middle East Democracy (POMED) Turkish Democracy: A Model Abroad, Troubled at Home?

2012-one of the very first panels I spoke at in Washington on why Erdogan and the AKP were a threat to 🇹🇷

On the panel, my friend @heissenstat.bsky.social & Amb. Ross Wilson

Gulenists in the audience hated the panel and called us "elitists". Back then, it wasn't vogue to critique Erdogan 😀

Indeed-maps home made by Will Doran-my partner in crime for this piece!

How Turkish Arms End Up in African Conflicts Ankara’s engagement on the continent has generated violence, not stability.

How 🇹🇷 Arms End Up in African Conflicts

Ankara’s engagement on the continent has generated violence, not stability

Our latest piece for @foreignpolicy.com w/my FDD colleague Will Doran

Turkey's Gulf Tour and Erdogan's Gaza Ambitions are Dangerous Erdogan is pushing to deploy Turkish troops to Gaza, but his history of backing Hamas makes his "peace" plan a threat to stability.

🇹🇷 military has no business in Gaza

It's presence is dangerous & risks not only arming Hamas but risks positioning a NATO military power by its side in support of a terrorist entity

Our latest piece with Ahmad Sharawi for National Security Journal👇

YouTube video by DW News Can Turkey be a reliable partner for European Security? | DW News

DW has an interesting run-down of varied thinking around EU coordination with Turkey over security as Russia looms larger and the US proves increasing undependable. With @sinanciddi.bsky.social and @Samuel Doveri Vesterbye.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=yo97...

With a frowned expression I might add on my end😬

Erdogan's Turkey wants to be a key player in post-war Gaza. It's a fantasy Erdogan Wants to Leverage Trump's Praise for Turkey's Role in Facilitating the Israel-Hamas Cease-fire. But the Turkish President's Unwavering Embrace of Hamas Leaves Ankara Without the Credibility, T...

My latest for @haaretzcom.bsky.social 👇

"Erdogan's Turkey Wants to Be a Key Player in Post-war Gaza.
It's a Fantasy"

🇹🇷 President's unwavering embrace of Hamas leaves Ankara without the credibility, trust or impartiality required to shape Gaza's future

YouTube video by FDD Sinan Ciddi on whether Turkey is going to play a role in Gaza following ceasefire — i24 News

Is 🇹🇷 going to play a significant role in Gaza following the ceasefire?

I spoke to i24 News to discuss 👇