Turkey Sacks over 2,000 Public Employees over ‘Terror’ Links

A supporter holds a flag depicting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a pro-government demonstration in Ankara, Turkey, July 20, 2016. (Reuters)
A supporter holds a flag depicting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a pro-government demonstration in Ankara, Turkey, July 20, 2016. (Reuters)
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Turkey Sacks over 2,000 Public Employees over ‘Terror’ Links

A supporter holds a flag depicting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a pro-government demonstration in Ankara, Turkey, July 20, 2016. (Reuters)
A supporter holds a flag depicting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a pro-government demonstration in Ankara, Turkey, July 20, 2016. (Reuters)

Turkish authorities announced on Sunday that they had dismissed over 2,000 public employees for their links to “terrorist” organizations.

Some 2,756 people were sacked from their jobs in public institutions including soldiers, teachers and ministry personnel over their terror connections, said a decree published in the Official Gazette.

The dismissed personnel were found to be members of, or linked to, “terror” groups, structures and entities that act against national security.

Some 50,000 people have been arrested since a failed putsch in July last year and about 150,000 have been dismissed or suspended from their posts, including soldiers, police, teachers and public servants, over alleged links with the movement of US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen.

The government accused Gulen of organizing the attempted coup.

Gulen, who has lived in self-imposed exile in Pennsylvania since 1999, has denied the accusation and condemned the coup.

Rights groups and some Western allies fear President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is using the attempted coup as a pretext to stifle dissent.



Iran Calls Nuclear Talks with US ‘Meaningless’ after Israeli Strikes

A building stands damaged in the aftermath of Israeli strikes, in Tehran, Iran, June 13, 2025. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
A building stands damaged in the aftermath of Israeli strikes, in Tehran, Iran, June 13, 2025. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
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Iran Calls Nuclear Talks with US ‘Meaningless’ after Israeli Strikes

A building stands damaged in the aftermath of Israeli strikes, in Tehran, Iran, June 13, 2025. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
A building stands damaged in the aftermath of Israeli strikes, in Tehran, Iran, June 13, 2025. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman on Saturday called further nuclear talks with the United States “meaningless” after Israeli strikes on the country, state television said.

The comments by Esmail Baghaei further threw possible talks between the two nations, initially scheduled to take place Sunday in Oman, into doubt.

“The US did a job that made the talks become meaningless,” Baghaei was quoted as saying. He added that Israel has passed all Iran’s red lines by committing a “criminal act” through its strikes.

However, he stopped short of saying the talks were cancelled. The Mizan news agency, which is run by Iran’s judiciary, quoted him as saying: “It is still not clear what we decide about Sunday talks.”

US President Donald Trump on Friday urged Iran to quickly reach an agreement on curbing its nuclear program.

Trump framed the volatile moment in the Middle East as a possible "second chance” for Iran's leadership to avoid further destruction "before there is nothing left and save what was once known as the Iranian Empire.”

The Republican president pressed on Iran as he met his national security team in the Situation Room to discuss the tricky path forward following Israel's devastating strikes, which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged to keep up for “as many days as it takes” to decapitate Iran's nuclear program.