On Thursday, January 7, 2021, the Afghan Institute for Strategic Studies (AISS) held an online roundtable discussion on “The Position of Proxy Groups in Iran's Foreign and Security Policy". Dr. Foad Izadi, faculty member university of Tehran; Tabish Forugh, analyst; Dr. Seyed Hamzeh Safavi, director of Institute for Islamic World Futures Studies; and Hussain Ehsani, middle east affairs analyst, were the speakers of the program. The event was moderated by Ferdaws Kawish, journalist.

In his speech, Dr. Fouad Izadi said that building a coalition is a political issue. However, the Islamic Republic of Iran has not had much success in the field of coalition building, and Iran's only success has been the establishment of Hezbollah. He added that one of the advantages of Afghanistan is the religiosity of different religions in this country, which is less seen in other countries, and one of the examples of their voluntary participation was in Syria. He said that whenever a government in another country becomes weak, it uses non-governmental groups to secure itself, and not every non-governmental group is a terrorist, this is the definition of Western powers, especially the United States.

Tabish Forugh stated that Iran, like any other regional power, uses every opportunity to secure its interests and expand its sphere of influence, and supports various groups in the region to secure its interests. He added that the continuation of the extravagant policies of countries, including Iran, in the region, threatens the security and order of countries, and these countries should not engage in non-governmental recruitment. He said relations between governments should be based on international rules, and if there is no such capability in Afghanistan or Iran, capacity should be built and countries should stop using proxy groups as it is dangerous for the future of the region.

Dr. Seyed Hamzeh Safavi stated that the interests of Iran and Afghanistan are intertwined and one of the clear examples of the presence of ISIL is a security threat to both countries. He stressed that the two countries can work together to address such security threats and challenges. He added that Iran's main problem is the presence of the US in the region, not competition with Saudi Arabia and other countries in the region. Iran believes that the US presence has added to regional challenges. So, countries need to solve their problems themselves.

Hossein Ehsani stated that there is no clear basic principle about Iran's strategic thinking, it is because the effectiveness of classical armies in the Middle East has been eroded, regional actors are forced to establish proxy groups in the region and this is because it is accepted as a principle in the Middle East security system. He also noted that Iran seeks to re-emerge as a natural leader in the region. He also said about the emergence of the Fatimid group and it consists of different groups that have learned different military tactics in Syria and therefore can be a potential threat to Afghanistan.