Can Turkey Bring the U.S. and Iran Together?

In a recent interview with the New York Times, Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan offered Turkey's services as a mediator between the United States and Iran. Although it's not clear if Washington really needs Ankara's help if it decides to start talking to the Iranians, the offer is part of Turkey's ongoing effort to recast itself as a regional mediator and (soft) power broker. Here's an article I wrote for Eurasianet about Turkey's new Middle East foreign policy, and another from the Christian Science Monitor about Ankara's effort to mediate between Israel and Syria.

UPDATE I: I explore this topic a bit more in an analysis piece for Eurasianet.

UPDATE II: The Iranian ambassador in Turkey seems to throw some more cold water on Ankara's mediation offer in an interview with Hurriyet, a Turkish daily.