By Bosphorus News Geopolitics Desk
Türkiye posted its first current-account surplus in eight months as oil prices moved sharply above the government's new assumptions. In Cyprus, the Turkish Cypriot legislature advanced an early-election process centered on Dec. 6, while new defense, EU and energy files gathered around the Sept. 17 leaders' meeting.
Türkiye
Current Account Returns to Surplus
Türkiye posted a $36 million current-account surplus in July, its first monthly surplus in eight months, according to the Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye (CBRT). Economists surveyed by AA Finans had expected a surplus of $582.3 million.
Excluding gold and energy, the surplus reached $4.97 billion, implying a combined energy and gold deficit of about $4.9 billion for the month. The annualized current-account deficit stood at roughly $40.7 billion.
The July data predates this week's oil rally. Brent is now well above the $88 average assumed in Türkiye's new Medium-Term Programme.
Kalın Meets Iraqi and Libyan Parliamentary Leaders
National Intelligence Organization (MİT) chief İbrahim Kalın met Iraqi Council of Representatives Speaker Haibat al-Halbousi in Ankara, security sources told Anadolu Agency. The talks covered security cooperation, water infrastructure, agriculture, reconstruction and the Development Road project, as well as efforts to bring weapons in Iraq under state control.
Halbousi met Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan in Ankara on Sept. 8. Security sources said he voiced support for the "Terror-Free Türkiye" process.
Kalın also met Libyan House of Representatives Speaker Aguila Saleh and High Council of State head Mohammed Takala, who lead Libya's rival legislative bodies.
Çelik said Turkish institutions were working closely with Iraqi counterparts on disarmament. He also said the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) had been dissolved and that Ankara was following its integration into the Syrian state.
HAVELSAN Signs HAMZA-1 Deal With Egypt's AOI
HAVELSAN and Egypt's Arab Organization for Industrialization (AOI) signed a sales agreement for the HAMZA-1 unmanned aerial vehicle at the El Alamein International Airshow.
The deal follows an August 2025 agreement covering the co-production of vertical take-off drones in Egypt.
The airshow ran from Sept. 8 to 10. El Alamein also hosted the Sept. 8 summit of the leaders of Greece, the Republic of Cyprus and Egypt.
Israel's New Envoy Presents Credentials in Ankara
Joel Lion, Israel's former ambassador to Ukraine, presented his credentials to the Turkish Foreign Ministry this week, the Israeli Foreign Ministry said.
Lion will serve as acting chargé d'affaires, replacing Irit Lillian, who retired over the summer.
Cyprus
Turkish Cypriot Assembly Advances Dec. 6 Election Plan
The Republic Assembly of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) moved on Thursday toward holding parliamentary and local elections together on Dec. 6.
Turkish Cypriot outlets reported the measure as approved. Cyprus Mail said the election bill had advanced to committee, with Dec. 6 remaining the most likely date.
The same session abolished mixed voting, which allowed voters to select candidates from more than one party. The change passed 26-19. The main opposition Republican Turkish Party (CTP) voted against on procedural grounds. Erhan Arıklı, whose Yeniden Doğuş Partisi (YDP) left the governing coalition last week, backed the change.
The Assembly also unanimously established a five-member inquiry committee into the Filo Jet disaster, with three members from the National Unity Party (UBP) and two from the CTP. A separate protocol with Türkiye on fiber-optic infrastructure was approved by majority vote.
Fourteen people remain missing after the ferry sank. A deep-water search vessel from Istanbul is expected to arrive Sunday evening and begin operations Monday.
The dismissal of Meteorological Department director Sinan Güneş brought the number of officials removed since the sinking to six.
European Parliament Committee Backs Funding for 1974 Memorial
The European Parliament's Committee on Women's Rights and Gender Equality (FEMM) approved an amendment on Sept. 1 calling on the European Commission to work with the Republic of Cyprus on financing a monument in Nicosia to women who suffered sexual violence in 1974.
Greek Cypriot member of the European Parliament Loucas Fourlas tabled the amendment as the European People's Party (EPP) shadow rapporteur for FEMM's budget opinion.
The proposal forms part of Parliament's work on the European Union's 2027 budget and is not yet a European Parliament position. Parliament is due to adopt its budget position in October, with possible conciliation between Oct. 27 and Nov. 16.
It follows a July 8 plenary resolution whose title refers to the impact of the 1974 Turkish invasion on Cypriot women and girls. The resolution passed by 575 votes to 33, with 43 abstentions.
Türkiye's Foreign Ministry declared that resolution null and void. On Sept. 3, it accused the EU of becoming a vehicle for Greek Cypriot propaganda over the monument proposal.
Türkiye's Ministry of National Defense said on Thursday that the committee recommendation was another example of what it called a biased approach that distorted historical facts.
Turkish Cypriot leader Tufan Erhürman has included European Parliament decisions among the steps he says are eroding trust before the Sept. 17 leaders' meeting.
Herzog Visit Covers Defense Procurement and Energy
Israeli President Isaac Herzog's visit to Nicosia on Thursday also covered Israeli defense companies' interest in using Cyprus as a route into EU SAFE loans.
The two sides discussed possible Republic of Cyprus purchases of Israeli equipment, including Merkava tanks, Cyprus Mail reported.
Energy was also on the agenda. Israeli officials said an agreement over the Aphrodite gas field was close to completion. Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Christodoulides said the Republic of Cyprus saw value in reviving the trilateral and 3+1 formats involving the United States.
Red Sea & Mecca Pact
AK Party Says Mecca Pact Complements Existing Alliances
Justice and Development (AK) Party spokesman Ömer Çelik said on Thursday that the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement complemented the security organizations Türkiye already belongs to rather than replacing them.
Çelik called the pact with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan a "micro model" for regional states seeking to protect peace through their own arrangements. He said additional countries would join and that the pact remained open to states in the region, while its principles and accession rules would take more time to define.
He did not address the agreement's collective-defense provisions or the Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia. Pakistan's Foreign Office said this week that no military response under the pact was being discussed. Türkiye's Foreign Ministry issued a statement on the Houthi attacks on Sept. 8.
Houthis Reach Hanish Islands After Taking Mocha
Houthi forces reached the Hanish Islands in the Red Sea after capturing the port city of Mocha, two Yemeni government sources told Reuters. The advance has brought the fighting closer to the approaches to Bab el-Mandeb.
Government forces and their allies withdrew south toward Dhubab, on the strait opposite Perim Island. Yemeni military sources described Dhubab and Perim as central to control of the waterway.
Qatar-based Al-Araby reported that the Houthis had taken Perim, but the claim has not been independently confirmed. Iran's Al-Alam television separately said Dhubab had fallen. That report also remains unconfirmed.
Saudi Arabia said Houthi attacks on the kingdom in recent days had wounded 73 people. Two Iranian sources told Reuters that Tehran instructed the Houthis last week to intensify attacks on Saudi Arabia and promised funding, weapons and senior officers.
Trump Rejects Saudi Request for Houthi Strikes
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman called Trump twice on Thursday to request U.S. strikes against the Houthis, Axios reported, citing two U.S. officials. Trump declined. Reuters said it could not independently verify the report.
U.S. officials said there were no current plans for direct American military action against the Houthis. U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) commander Adm. Brad Cooper travelled to Saudi Arabia on Thursday for coordination talks, according to the report.
Washington's military focus remains Iran and the Strait of Hormuz. CNN reported that around 100 U.S. military advisers are in Saudi Arabia, providing intelligence and targeting support without taking part in strikes.
Hormuz & Gulf Security
Iranian Missiles Damage U.S. Aircraft in Jordan
Iranian missiles damaged several U.S. aircraft at Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan this week, a U.S. official told Reuters. An A-10 attack aircraft was hit, while about eight F-15 fighters sustained light damage and returned to service.
U.S. forces fired roughly 30 Patriot interceptors during the attack, the official said. Trump denied in a NewsNation interview on Thursday that any U.S. aircraft had been damaged.
A U.S. official separately told ABC News that Iran had resumed limited ballistic missile production at underground sites, using components stockpiled before the war. Production was described as substantially slower than before.
Four unidentified projectiles struck two vessels four nautical miles west of Khasab, Oman, on Thursday, according to United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO). One vessel caught fire.
IAEA Refers Iran to UN Security Council
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors voted on Wednesday to report Iran to the United Nations Security Council for the first time in 20 years, citing Tehran's failure to cooperate with the agency's investigation.
The resolution, submitted by the United States, Britain, France and Germany, passed by 23 votes to three, with eight abstentions. Russia, China and Niger voted against.
Trump also warned Iran over activity at Pickaxe Mountain, a site linked to centrifuge assembly, saying the United States could strike it.
Brent crude rose more than 6% on Thursday and traded near $108 a barrel on Friday, Bloomberg reported. It is heading for its strongest weekly rise since July.
Greece & Aegean
AK Party Spokesman Targets Athens Over Israel Ties
Çelik was asked about reports that Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis would visit Kastellorizo, known in Türkiye as Meis.
He said creating more crises was not a political achievement and that disputes between Türkiye and Greece should be settled at the table.
Çelik also said Greece could not encircle Türkiye through what he called "dysfunctional alliances" or by handing its policies over to Israel. He described Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as "a Nazi."
Balkans & Black Sea
Bosnia Downgrades Serbia Ties Over Mladić Funeral
Bosnia and Herzegovina downgraded diplomatic relations with Serbia and recalled most of its embassy staff from Belgrade over the funeral of Ratko Mladić.
Serbian government ministers attended the funeral, which included military honors.
The European Parliament will debate the funeral and the glorification of war crimes in Serbia on Tuesday. Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesperson Öncü Keçeli responded to a question on the funeral on Sept. 8.
Çelik Says 43 Turkish-Operated Ships Targeted in Black Sea
Çelik said eight Turkish-operated ships had been targeted from the Russian side and 35 from the Ukrainian side.
He called for renewed talks in Istanbul aimed at bringing the war to an end.
Constanța Oil Terminal Workers Prepare General Strike
Workers at the Oil Terminal in Romania's port of Constanța will begin a general strike in a week after wage talks failed, Radio Romania International reported.
About 60% of Romania's petroleum product imports pass through the terminal. A Constanța court ruled the strike legal.
Levant
IDF Destroys Hezbollah Tunnel Complex Under Ali Taher Ridge
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said it used 1,100 tons of explosives to destroy a Hezbollah underground complex beneath the Ali Taher ridge near Nabatieh.
The site lies within the area Israel has declared a security zone in southern Lebanon.
The explosion registered as a magnitude 4.1 tremor, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Lebanese authorities say Israeli strikes have killed more than 4,300 people since March.
Bosphorus Read
Türkiye enters the latest oil shock with a July current-account surplus, but the underlying energy bill remains exposed. The month still produced an energy and gold deficit of about $4.9 billion, and Brent is now trading well above the $88 average built into the Medium-Term Programme.
Cyprus is moving into a crowded political period. Erhürman is due to meet Christodoulides on Sept. 17 before travelling to New York, while the Turkish Cypriot side advances toward a possible Dec. 6 election. The European Parliament memorial amendment and Israeli interest in SAFE access through the Republic of Cyprus are adding new disputes around a negotiation process already short on trust.
Egypt offered another measure of Türkiye's regional diplomacy this week. El Alamein hosted Greece, the Republic of Cyprus and Egypt at summit level while a Turkish defense company signed a drone agreement with an Egyptian state organization at the same venue.
Farther south, pressure is building around both maritime entrances to the Arabian Peninsula. Traffic through Hormuz has already fallen sharply during the U.S.-Iran confrontation. The Houthi advance toward Bab el-Mandeb now puts a second route under military pressure as Brent trades near $108.
Saudi Arabia has tested two security channels within days. Washington reportedly declined its request for strikes against the Houthis, while Pakistan said no military response under the Mecca Pact was under discussion. Çelik's remarks placed the pact alongside Türkiye's existing alliances and made clear that its membership and operating rules are still being developed.
Across the Aegean, Israel has moved directly into the language of the Türkiye-Greece dispute. Çelik's criticism of Athens' ties with the Netanyahu government was Ankara's sharpest public language on the relationship this week.
Sources: Reuters, Axios, Bloomberg, ABC News, CBS News, CNN, UK Maritime Trade Operations, International Atomic Energy Agency, Central Bank of the Republic of Türkiye, Anadolu Agency, AA Finans, AK Party, Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Turkish Ministry of National Defense, Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Israel Defense Forces, U.S. Geological Survey, HAVELSAN, Republic Assembly of the TRNC, Turkish Agency Cyprus, Haber Kıbrıs, Cyprus Mail, European Parliament, European Parliamentary Research Service, Times of Israel, Al Jazeera, Radio Romania International, To Vima, Bosphorus News review and reporting.
Read Yesterday's brief: September 10.