Characters from Persia have high hopes (6)
I believe the answer is:
aspire
'have high hopes' is the definition.
(I've seen this in another clue)
'characters from persia' is the wordplay.
'characters from' is an anagram indicator (the same characters in a new order).
'persia' anagrammed gives 'ASPIRE'.
(Other definitions for aspire that I've seen before include "rise to a great height" , "Is a rep (anag.)" , "Have lofty aims" , "Direct one's hopes and ambitions" , "Hanker" .)