On Saturday, December 21, 2024, the Institute of East Strategic Studies (IESS) hosted several Iranian and regional experts to analyze and review the latest situation in Syria, and its impact on developments in Central Asia and Afghanistan.
Participants in this meeting included:

• Alexander Knyazev, a senior researcher at the Eurasian Studies Center of the Moscow State Institute of International Relations, affiliated with the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs;
  Mohammad Sediqifar, former Iranian Consul General in Herat;
  Barat Shamsa, a Central Asia expert and university professor;
  Seyyed Ahmad Fatemi nejad, head of the Political Science Department at Ferdowsi University of Mashhad;
  Alireza Sedaghat, an expert at the Northeast Mission of the Iran Ministry of Foreign affairs in Mashhad;
  Omid Rahimi, a researcher at IESS.

At this meeting, various issues were analyzed and discussed, including the status of extremist armed groups in Syria and their connections to extremist groups in Central Asia and Afghanistan; the roles of Turkey, Russia, and other actors in Syria's developments; and the potential impacts of the Syrian crisis on the situation of extremist groups in Central Asia and Afghanistan.