Iran’s new president, Hassan Rouhani, is causing much optimism around the world, not only raising hopes that some of the tensions in the Middle East involving Iran might be reduced, but also that Tehran can help resolve the region's most burning issue today — namely, the crisis in Syria. Whether this optimism is justified, only time will tell, but all new beginnings justify the benefit of the doubt.

Rouhani’s election is also seen as an opportunity for improving Turkish-Iranian ties, which have been strained in recent years for a host of reasons, most notably the support the two countries are giving to the opposing sides in the Syrian conflict. In a Sept. 26 article for Al-Monitor, Fehim Tastekin provides a broad analysis of the possible new opportunities under Rouhani for relations between Tehran and Ankara.

Recent high-level contacts between the two countries were capped by talks between President Abdullah Gul and Rouhani in New York on the sidelines of this year's opening of the UN General Assembly. According to media reports, their meeting was warm and held in a spirit of cooperation on a host of issues, including Syria. Giving the urgency of the matter, however, the immediate question is what can the two countries do to cooperate to help douse the flames of the Syrian conflict, especially when they do not see eye to eye on the causes or President Bashar al-Assad’s role in it.

As recently as August, during an interview with the pro-government Ulke TV, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan had harsh words for Iran about its support of Assad and his regime. Asserting that “Turkey had always stood by Iran, even at the risk of antagonizing the world,” Erdogan went on to say that he “would have expected Iran to have taken a different position on Syria,” clearly implying that Tehran should have adopted a position close to Turkey’s.