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Istanbul Mayor's Staff Targeted By Dozens Of Arrest Warrants

A Turkish flag with the Bosphorus Bridge in the background, flies on a passenger ferry in Istanbul, A Turkish flag with the Bosphorus Bridge in the background, flies on a passenger ferry in Istanbul, September 30, 2020. (Reuters)September 30, 2020. (Reuters)
A Turkish flag with the Bosphorus Bridge in the background, flies on a passenger ferry in Istanbul, A Turkish flag with the Bosphorus Bridge in the background, flies on a passenger ferry in Istanbul, September 30, 2020. (Reuters)September 30, 2020. (Reuters)
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Istanbul Mayor's Staff Targeted By Dozens Of Arrest Warrants

A Turkish flag with the Bosphorus Bridge in the background, flies on a passenger ferry in Istanbul, A Turkish flag with the Bosphorus Bridge in the background, flies on a passenger ferry in Istanbul, September 30, 2020. (Reuters)September 30, 2020. (Reuters)
A Turkish flag with the Bosphorus Bridge in the background, flies on a passenger ferry in Istanbul, A Turkish flag with the Bosphorus Bridge in the background, flies on a passenger ferry in Istanbul, September 30, 2020. (Reuters)September 30, 2020. (Reuters)

Turkish authorities have issued 47 arrest warrants for municipal officials and staff across Istanbul, whose mayor -- the main political rival to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan -- has been jailed since March, the state news agency Anadolu reported on Saturday.

The warrants were based on "four separate corruption investigations centred on Istanbul", Anadolu said, without revealing how many people were actually taken into custody, AFP reported.

The March 19 arrest and jailing of Istanbul mayor Ekrem Imamoglu sparked the biggest street protests Türkiye had seen in decades.

Police had already detained nearly 70 people in subsequent raids linked to alleged corruption at Istanbul City Hall, including Imamoglu's private secretary and his private protection officer.

The latest warrants targeted a former opposition lawmaker and five mayors of Istanbul districts, according to Anadolu.

The private television station Halk, seen as close to the opposition CHP party that Imamoglu belongs to, said that nine district mayors -- out of a total of 39 -- had now been arrested and were being kept in custody.

The CHP, which has nominated Imamoglu as its candidate in presidential elections due in 2028, did not immediately comment on the latest warrants.

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US Moving Fighter Jets to Middle East as Israel-Iran War Rages

This handout grab taken from footage released by the US Defense Visual Information Distribution Service (DVIDS) on June 11, 2025 shows the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) conducting flight operations in the South China Sea, on May 28, 2025. (AFP Photo / DVIDS / Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Edward Jacome - Handout)
This handout grab taken from footage released by the US Defense Visual Information Distribution Service (DVIDS) on June 11, 2025 shows the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) conducting flight operations in the South China Sea, on May 28, 2025. (AFP Photo / DVIDS / Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Edward Jacome - Handout)
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US Moving Fighter Jets to Middle East as Israel-Iran War Rages

This handout grab taken from footage released by the US Defense Visual Information Distribution Service (DVIDS) on June 11, 2025 shows the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) conducting flight operations in the South China Sea, on May 28, 2025. (AFP Photo / DVIDS / Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Edward Jacome - Handout)
This handout grab taken from footage released by the US Defense Visual Information Distribution Service (DVIDS) on June 11, 2025 shows the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) conducting flight operations in the South China Sea, on May 28, 2025. (AFP Photo / DVIDS / Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Edward Jacome - Handout)

The US military is deploying more fighter aircraft to the Middle East and extending the deployment of other warplanes, bolstering US military forces in the region as the war between Israel and Iran rages, three US officials said.

One of the officials said the deployments include F-16, F-22 and F-35 fighter aircraft.

Two of the officials stressed the defensive nature of the deployment of fighter aircraft, which have been used to shoot down drones and projectiles.

The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Reuters was first to report on Monday the movement of a large number of tanker aircraft to Europe as well as the deployment of an aircraft carrier to the Middle East, providing options to President Donald Trump as Middle East tensions soar.

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth described the deployments as defensive in nature, as Washington looks to safeguard forces in the Middle East from potential blowback from Iran and Iran-aligned forces in the region.

A fourth US defense official on Tuesday raised the possibility of the deployment to the Eastern Mediterranean of additional US Navy warships capable of shooting down ballistic missiles.

The United States already has a sizeable force in the Middle East, with nearly 40,000 troops in the region, including air defense systems, fighter aircraft and warships that can detect and shoot down enemy missiles.

Israel launched its air war, its largest ever on Iran, on Friday after saying it concluded Iran was on the verge of developing a nuclear weapon.

Iran denies seeking nuclear weapons and has pointed to its right to nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, including enrichment, as a party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.