Recovering Iran’s regional power: Rouhani’s mid-term presidency.

During the two years of his mid-term presidency, the Iranian president Hassan Rouhani has carried out a series of economic, military, diplomatic initiatives in order to recover Iran's regional power after decades of inhibitions since the 1979 revolution and more recent hardship caused by Ahmadinejad's political choices and by the international sanctions imposed for Iran's uranium enrichment programme. With the signature of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action in July 2015, the single most relevant measure taken by his administration, Rouhani has secured Iran's reintegration in political and economic global networks as well as its recognition as a legitimate regional player and significant diplomatic broker fit to ensure the stability of the area. However, the rise of a new power in the current regional balance is expected to prompt both challenges, considering the risk of major confrontations with regional rivals, and opportunities, especially in terms of détente with the West, a rapprochement which has the potential to trigger the enhancement of Iran's geopolitical security by easing Iran's siege syndrome, quenching its ambitions, increasing its energy trade and domestic development.