Turkey and Iran have different perspectives on the transformation of the Middle East in the wake of the Arab Spring. Why are Tehran and Ankara not able to avoid a rivalry on Syria? Will

they be able to find a way to strike a balance and move beyond the current phase, as in the past? What are the limits of the escalation in the rivalry between Turkey and Iran on Syria? Turkey and Iran’s preferences in Syria are reflections of the government systems they want to have in their own countries. The conflicting perspectives are not likely to be reconciled by pragmatic concerns. The current phase of confrontation is part of a larger domestic transformation of Iran and Turkey under the influence of the Arab Spring.