President Obama said he has traded letters with new Iranian president Hassan Rowhani Sunday on ABC's This Week:
GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS: Have you reached out personally to the new president?
OBAMA: I have. And he’s reached out to me. We haven’t spoken directly. But--
STEPHANOPOULOS: Letters.
OBAMA: Yeah. And I think what the Iranians understand is that the nuclear issue is a far larger issue for us than the chemical weapons issue.
Iran, one of Syria's chief allies, has sent Hezbollah reinforcements to battle rebel forces and acted as Assad’s chief defender in the Middle East. Although called a "moderate," Rowhani's prior reputation for deceit during nuclear negotiations with the West and his recent appointment of a Holocaust denier as foreign minister are just two examples of throwing that label into question.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said last month that Rowhani had shown his true face after he was quoted as saying Israel was a "wound" that must be removed.
