The country’s strategic calculations are bound to have been affected by the ascension of Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud to the Saudi throne, a real game changer that has resulted in a shift of alliances among the region’s Sunni powers. Stronger ties among Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Qatar – and the spectacular successes of the latter’s Sunni proxies in Syria – will put pressure on Iran to cut Assad loose or risk being drawn even deeper into the Syrian quagmire.