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Gulen, the powerful cleric accused of orchestrating a Turkish coup, dies
Herkul, a website which publishes Gulen’s sermons, said on its X account that Gulen had died on Sunday evening in the U.S. hospital where he was being treated.
The U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, who built a powerful Islamic movement in Turkey and beyond but spent his later years mired in accusations of orchestrating an attempted coup against Turkish leader Tayyip Erdogan, has died. He was 83, Reuters reported.
Herkul, a website which publishes Gulen’s sermons, said on its X account that Gulen had died on Sunday evening in the U.S. hospital where he was being treated.
Gulen was a one-time ally of Erdogan but they fell out spectacularly, and Erdogan held him responsible for the 2016 attempted coup in which rogue soldiers commandeered warplanes, tanks and helicopters. Some 250 people were killed in the bid to seize power.
Gulen, who had lived in self-imposed exile in the United States since 1999, denied involvement in the putsch.
According to its followers, Gulen’s movement – known as “Hizmet” which means “service” in Turkish – seeks to spread a moderate brand of Islam that promotes Western-style education, free markets and interfaith communication.
Since the failed coup, his movement has been systematically dismantled in Turkey and its influence has declined internationally, read the report.
Known to his supporters as Hodjaefendi, or respected teacher, Gulen was born in a village in the eastern Turkish province of Erzurum in 1941. The son of an imam, or Islamic preacher, he studied the Koran from infancy.
In 1959, Gulen was appointed as a mosque imam in the northwestern city of Edirne and began to come to prominence as a preacher in the 1960s in the western province of Izmir, where he set up student dormitories and would go to tea houses to preach.
These student houses marked the start of an informal network which would spread over the following decades through education, business, media and state institutions, giving his supporters extensive influence.
This influence also spread beyond Turkey’s borders to the Turkic republics of Central Asia, the Balkans, Africa and the West through a network of schools.
Gulen had been a close ally of Erdogan and his AK Party, but growing tensions in their relationship exploded in December 2013 when corruption investigations targeting ministers and officials close to Erdogan came to light, Reuters reported.
Prosecutors and police from Gulen’s Hizmet movement were widely believed to be behind the investigations and an arrest warrant was issued for Gulen in 2014, with his movement designated as a terrorist group two years later.
Soon after the 2016 coup, Erdogan described Gulen’s network as traitors and “like a cancer”, vowing to root them out wherever they are. Hundreds of schools, companies, media outlets and associations linked to him were shut down and assets seized.
Gulen condemned the coup attempt “in the strongest terms”.
“As someone who suffered under multiple military coups during the past five decades, it is especially insulting to be accused of having any link to such an attempt,” he said in a statement.
In a crackdown after the failed putsch, which the government said targeted Gulen’s followers, at least 77,000 people were arrested and 150,000 state workers including teachers, judges and soldiers suspended under emergency rule, read the report.
Companies and media outlets regarded as linked to Gulen were seized by the state or closed down. The Turkish government said its actions were justified by the gravity of the threat posed to the state by the coup.
Gulen also became an isolated figure within Turkey, reviled by Erdogan’s supporters and shunned by the opposition which saw his network as having conspired over decades to undermine the secular foundations of the republic.
Ankara long sought to have him extradited from the United States.
Speaking in his gated compound in Pennsylvania’s Pocono Mountains, Gulen said in a 2017 Reuters interview he had no plans to flee the United States to avoid extradition. Even then, he appeared frail, walking with a shuffle and keeping his longtime doctor close at hand.
Gulen had travelled to the United States for medical treatment but remained there as he faced a criminal investigation in Turkey.
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Russia sought to blackmail US using intelligence to Iran, Zelenskiy says
Zelenskiy, who said on Monday that Ukraine’s military intelligence has “irrefutable” evidence that Russia is continuing to provide intelligence to Iran.
Russia sought to blackmail the United States by offering to stop sharing military intelligence with Iran if, in return, Washington would cut off Ukraine from its intelligence data, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Wednesday.
Zelenskiy, who said on Monday that Ukraine’s military intelligence has “irrefutable” evidence that Russia is continuing to provide intelligence to Iran, told Reuters he had seen the data but provided no further details, Reuters reported.
Speaking in his presidential compound in Kyiv, Zelenskiy said that some Iranian drones, used to attack U.S. military assets and its allies during the war in the Middle East, contained Russian components.
“I have reports from our intelligence services showing that Russia is doing this and saying: ‘I will not pass on intelligence to Iran if America stops passing intelligence to Ukraine.’ Isn’t that blackmail? Absolutely,” Zelenskiy said.
He did not say who, according to the reports, Russia was addressing the comments to. Russia has denied assisting Iran in its month-old conflict with the United States and Israel – a denial that Washington said earlier this month that it had also received directly from Moscow when the issue was discussed.
Ukraine, which has faced sustained attacks by Iranian-designed Shahed drones since Russia launched its invasion in 2022, is helping several Gulf states – including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar – to counter drone attacks on their territory, the president said.
Zelenskiy said he hoped that Ukraine would be able to reach long-term deals with some Gulf countries that would raise funds for the production of Ukrainian drone interceptors or receiving much-needed air-defence missiles, read the report.
Israel struck the Iranian capital Tehran on Wednesday, Israeli military and Iranian media said, as President Donald Trump said the U.S. was making progress in its efforts to negotiate an end to the war, with reports of a 15-point plan sent to Tehran.
The Israeli Defense Forces said in a Telegram post it had launched a wave of strikes targeting infrastructure across Tehran. The semi-official Iranian SNN News Agency said the strikes hit a residential area in the city, with rescuers searching the rubble, Reuters reported.
Kuwait and Saudi Arabia said on Wednesday they had repelled fresh drone attacks, without stating where they originated. Drones targeted a fuel tank at Kuwait International Airport, causing a fire but no casualties, Kuwait’s Civil Aviation Authority said.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said it had launched a new wave of attacks against locations in Israel including Tel Aviv and Kiryat Shmona, as well as U.S. bases in Kuwait, Jordan and Bahrain, Iranian state media reported.
Trump said on Tuesday the U.S. was in “negotiations” to end the war, which has already killed thousands and created the worst energy shock in history, leading to global fuel shortages and roiling markets.
Stocks rose and oil prices fell on Wednesday on reports the U.S. is seeking a month-long ceasefire and had sent a 15-point plan to Iran for discussion, raising hopes for a resumption of oil exports out of the Persian Gulf.
Trump told reporters at the White House the U.S. was talking to “the right people” in Iran to end hostilities, adding the Iranians wanted to reach a deal very badly.
Iran’s powerful parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf on Monday dismissed such reports as “fake news.”
15 POINT PLAN SENT TO IRAN
The New York Times reported on Tuesday that Washington sent Iran a 15-point plan to end the war in the Middle East. Israel’s Channel 12, quoting three sources, said the U.S. was seeking a month-long ceasefire to discuss the 15-point plan.
A source familiar with the matter confirmed that the U.S. had sent a plan to Iran but provided no further details.
The Israeli media outlet said the plan would include the dismantling of Iran’s nuclear programme, ceasing support for proxy groups, such as Lebanon’s Hezbollah, and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
The U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran on February 28 after saying they had failed to make enough headway in talks aimed at ending Iran’s nuclear programme, although mediator Oman said significant progress had been made.
Since then, Iran has attacked countries that host U.S. bases, struck Gulf energy infrastructure and effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, conduit for a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas.
Iran has told the United Nations Security Council and the International Maritime Organization that “non-hostile vessels” may transit the Strait of Hormuz if they coordinate with Iranian authorities, according to a note seen by Reuters on Tuesday.
The effective closure of the waterway, where 20% of the world’s oil and gas normally transits, has created the worst energy supply shock in history, sent fuel prices soaring, and disrupted global aviation.
PAKKISTAN OFFERS TO HOLD US-IRAN TALKS
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Tuesday he was willing to host talks between the U.S. and Iran on ending the war, a day after Trump postponed threats to bomb Iranian power plants after what he called “productive” talks.
Pakistan has long-standing ties to neighbouring Iran’s Islamic Republic and has been building a relationship with Trump.
Despite reports of negotiations, the Pentagon is expected to send thousands of soldiers from the U.S. Army’s elite 82nd Airborne Division to the Middle East, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters on Tuesday, adding to a massive U.S. military buildup.
The forces will add to the 50,000 U.S. troops already in the region and accelerate Washington’s massive U.S. military buildup there, fuelling fears of a longer conflict.
Key U.S. allies in the Middle East are moving closer to direct involvement in the conflict with Iran, as sustained attacks on Gulf infrastructure intensify pressure on regional governments, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal.
Both Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are reportedly weighing deeper coordination with the United States and Israel, following repeated Iranian missile and drone strikes that have disrupted their economies and threatened regional energy security.
While neither country has formally committed troops, recent developments suggest a shift toward more active participation. The report indicates that Gulf support is already enhancing U.S. operational capabilities, including facilitating airstrike logistics and potentially opening new avenues to target Iran’s financial networks.
Saudi Arabia signals shift in stance
Saudi Arabia appears to be reassessing its position as attacks on critical infrastructure continue. Riyadh has reportedly allowed U.S. forces access to the King Fahd Air Base, a move that could support expanded military operations.
Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan warned that the kingdom’s tolerance for Iranian attacks is limited. “Any belief that Gulf countries are incapable of responding is a miscalculation,” he said following recent strikes on energy facilities.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is said to be considering stronger action to restore deterrence, with officials suggesting it may be only a matter of time before Saudi Arabia takes a more direct role in the conflict.
According to the WSJ report, one source said that “it is only a matter of time before the kingdom enters the war.”
UAE ramps up pressure on Tehran
The United Arab Emirates has also taken steps to increase pressure on Tehran, particularly through economic measures. Authorities in Dubai have shut down Iranian-linked institutions, including the Iranian Hospital and Iranian Club, citing violations of national laws and alleged links to state-backed activities.
Officials warned that further action could include freezing billions of dollars in Iranian assets held within the UAE, a move that could significantly impact Iran’s already strained economy.
Long regarded as a key financial hub for Iranian businesses, the UAE’s shift signals a notable escalation in its stance, even as it continues to deliberate over potential military involvement.
Regional tensions and strategic stakes
The growing alignment among Gulf states follows a series of attacks on energy facilities across Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the UAE, and Qatar. Doha has condemned the strikes as a dangerous escalation and a direct threat to regional stability.
At the center of the war remains control over the Strait of Hormuz, a critical artery for global oil shipments. Iran’s ability to disrupt traffic through the strait continues to give it significant strategic leverage.
Risk of wider regional war
As the conflict approaches the one-month mark, Gulf states are maintaining close coordination with Washington over next steps. However, analysts warn that continued Iranian strikes could force regional powers into open confrontation.
With economic, security, and geopolitical stakes rising, the prospect of a broader regional war is becoming increasingly likely unless tensions are quickly contained through diplomatic efforts.
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