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Sweden, Finland Must Send up to 130 ‘Terrorists’ to Türkiye for NATO Bid, Erdogan Says

Turkish President and leader of the Justice and Development (AK) Party, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, addresses his party's group meeting at the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TGNA) in Ankara on November 23, 2022. (AFP)
Turkish President and leader of the Justice and Development (AK) Party, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, addresses his party's group meeting at the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TGNA) in Ankara on November 23, 2022. (AFP)
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Sweden, Finland Must Send up to 130 ‘Terrorists’ to Türkiye for NATO Bid, Erdogan Says

Turkish President and leader of the Justice and Development (AK) Party, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, addresses his party's group meeting at the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TGNA) in Ankara on November 23, 2022. (AFP)
Turkish President and leader of the Justice and Development (AK) Party, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, addresses his party's group meeting at the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TGNA) in Ankara on November 23, 2022. (AFP)

Sweden and Finland must deport or extradite up to 130 "terrorists" to Türkiye before the Turkish parliament will approve their bids to join NATO, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.

The two Nordic states applied last year to join NATO following Russia's invasion of Ukraine but their bids must be approved by all 30 NATO member states. Türkiye and Hungary have yet to endorse the applications.

Türkiye has said Sweden in particular must first take a clearer stance against what it sees as terrorists, mainly Kurdish militants and a group it blames for a 2016 coup attempt.

"We said look, so if you don't hand over your terrorists to us, we can't pass it (approval of the NATO application) through the parliament anyway," Erdogan said in comments late on Sunday, referring to a joint press conference he held with Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson last November.

"For this to pass the parliament, first of all you have to hand more than 100, around 130 of these terrorists to us," Erdogan said.

Finnish politicians interpreted Erdogan's demand as an angry response to an incident in Stockholm last week in which an effigy of the Turkish leader was strung up during what appeared to be a small protest.

"This must have been a reaction, I believe, to the events of the past days," Finland's foreign minister Pekka Haavisto told public broadcaster YLE.

Haavisto said he was not aware of any new official demands from Türkiye.

In response to the incident in Stockholm, Türkiye cancelled a planned visit to Ankara of the Swedish speaker of parliament, Andreas Norlen, who instead came to Helsinki on Monday.

"We stress that in Finland and in Sweden we have freedom of expression. We cannot control it," the speaker of the Finnish parliament, Matti Vanhanen, told reporters at a joint news conference with Norlen.

Separately on Monday Swedish Prime Minister Kristersson said that his country was in a "good position" to secure Türkiye’s ratification of its NATO bid.

Erdogan's spokesman Ibrahim Kalin said on Saturday that time was running out for Türkiye’s parliament to ratify the bids before presidential and parliamentary elections expected in May.

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World

Risk of ‘Escalation’ if Iran Attacked, Warns Deputy Foreign Minister

Iranians walk past shops selling food ahead of Iftar, the Ramadan fast-breaking meal, in northern Tehran on February 23, 2026. (AFP)
Iranians walk past shops selling food ahead of Iftar, the Ramadan fast-breaking meal, in northern Tehran on February 23, 2026. (AFP)
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Risk of ‘Escalation’ if Iran Attacked, Warns Deputy Foreign Minister

Iranians walk past shops selling food ahead of Iftar, the Ramadan fast-breaking meal, in northern Tehran on February 23, 2026. (AFP)
Iranians walk past shops selling food ahead of Iftar, the Ramadan fast-breaking meal, in northern Tehran on February 23, 2026. (AFP)

Iran's deputy foreign minister Kazem Gharibabadi warned of a wider escalation if his country was attacked, after US President Donald Trump raised the threat of strikes.

Trump has sent a major deployment of air and sea power to the Middle East and has threatened to strike Iran if it does not reach a deal on key concerns starting with its nuclear program.

"We call upon all nations committed to peace and justice to take meaningful steps to prevent further escalation," Gharibabadi said at the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva.

"The consequences of any renewed aggression wouldn't remain confined to one country -- and responsibility would rest with those who initiate or support such actions."

Iranian and US negotiators held indirect talks in Geneva last week on Tehran's nuclear program, hosted by Oman.

A fresh round of talks in the Swiss city this Thursday has been confirmed by Muscat, though not by Washington.

"Iran remains committed to diplomacy and dialogue as the most effective path towards de-escalation and sustainable security," Gharibabadi said.

"Recent diplomatic engagement here in Geneva, which will continue this Thursday, demonstrates that a new window of opportunity exists for negotiations to address differences and build confidence -- provided that they uphold mutual respect, equitable treatment and non-selective application of international norms.

"Any sustainable and credible negotiation must respect the legitimate rights of all states under international law, and deliver tangible security benefits without coercion, unilateral demands or threats of force."

- 'Chaos and change' -

The United States and Israel threatened new military action against Iran after mass protests in the regime, which the Iranian authorities crushed at a cost of thousands of lives.

After last week's indirect talks with Washington through Omani mediators in Geneva, Tehran said they had reached broad agreement on a set of guiding principles.

Gharibabadi said that while Tehran sought the path of diplomacy, it was prepared to defend its sovereignty, territory and people, insisting it would exercise its right to self-defense "if necessary".

He said meaningful progress in disarmament and non-proliferation could only be achieved through mutual, balanced and legally-binding commitments.

He called upon nuclear weapons states to engage constructively in talks towards a comprehensive nuclear weapons convention, plus offer legally-binding security assurances for countries without nuclear weapons.

Speaking just before, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the world was living through a period of "chaos and change", with international law being brazenly violated.

"The international order that defined security relations for nearly eight decades is shifting rapidly. The reckless use of force in many regions is fomenting mistrust," he warned.

World

Netanyahu Says Israel Facing ‘Challenging Days’ with Iran-US Tensions

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a speech during a plenary session of the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, in Jerusalem, 23 February 2026. (EPA)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a speech during a plenary session of the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, in Jerusalem, 23 February 2026. (EPA)
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Netanyahu Says Israel Facing ‘Challenging Days’ with Iran-US Tensions

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a speech during a plenary session of the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, in Jerusalem, 23 February 2026. (EPA)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a speech during a plenary session of the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, in Jerusalem, 23 February 2026. (EPA)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Monday that Israel was facing "complex and challenging days" as tensions escalate between the United States and Iran following President Donald Trump's threat of strikes should Tehran refuse to accept a new nuclear agreement.

"We are in very complex and challenging days," Netanyahu told lawmakers in a brief address to parliament. "We are keeping our eyes open and are prepared for any scenario."

He also reiterated a warning to Iran's leadership: "I have conveyed to the Iranian regime that if they make the gravest mistake in their history and attack the State of Israel, we will respond with a force they cannot even imagine."

The premier further highlighted Israel's close military cooperation with the US, as Washington continues to build up its military presence near Iran and in the Middle East.

"The alliance with the United States has never been closer," Netanyahu said.

"Between the Israel forces and the United States military, between our security agencies and their security services, there has never been anything like this," he added.

Arch-foes Israel and Iran faced each other in a first direct confrontation last June during a 12-day war in which the Israeli military targeted Tehran's nuclear facilities and ballistic missile arsenal.

Iran responded with drone and missile strikes on Israel. Later on in the war, the United States joined Israel in targeting Iran's underground nuclear facilities.

World

Iranian Students Protest for Third Day as US Pressure Mounts

Iranians drive along a street in Tehran, Iran, 23 February 2026. (EPA)
Iranians drive along a street in Tehran, Iran, 23 February 2026. (EPA)
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Iranian Students Protest for Third Day as US Pressure Mounts

Iranians drive along a street in Tehran, Iran, 23 February 2026. (EPA)
Iranians drive along a street in Tehran, Iran, 23 February 2026. (EPA)

Iranian students ‌defied authorities with protests for a third day on Monday, weeks after security forces crushed mass unrest with thousands killed and as the United States weighs possible air strikes against the country.

State media outlets reported students chanting anti-government slogans at Tehran University, burning flags at the all-women al-Zahra University, and scuffles at Amir Kabir University, all located in the capital.

Reuters also verified video showing students at al-Zahra University chanting slogans including "we'll reclaim Iran", but was not able ‌to confirm ‌when it was recorded.

In a new ‌sign ⁠of the mounting ⁠tension in the Middle East, the United States began pulling non-essential personnel and family members from the embassy in Beirut, a senior State Department official said.

US President Donald Trump has repeatedly threatened Iran since major nationwide protests across the country in January, saying on Thursday that "really bad things will ⁠happen" if talks between the countries fail ‌to produce a deal.

Washington wants ‌Iran to give up much of its nuclear program, which ‌it believes is aimed at building a bomb, limit the ‌range of its missiles to short distances and stop supporting groups it backs in the Middle East.

It has built up forces across the Middle East, putting increased pressure on Iran ‌as it weighs its response to US demands amid ongoing talks.

Iranian Supreme Leader Ali ⁠Khamenei ⁠already faces the gravest crisis of his 36-year tenure, with an economy struggling under the weight of international sanctions and growing unrest that broke out into major protests in January.

On Sunday Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said negotiations with the US had "yielded encouraging signals" even as a second US aircraft carrier headed towards the Middle East.

Trump has not laid out in detail his thinking on any possible Iran strike. A senior White House official told Reuters last week there was still no "unified support" within the administration to go ahead with an attack.