Israel Secretly Sent "Elite" Troops To Azerbaijan For Ops In Iran War: Report

During the war with Iran, Israel had secretly set up elite military and spy units in Azerbaijan as a part of a broader hidden network it built across the region to run operations against Iran, according to a report by CNN.

The units operated from several different locations from the southern part of the country near Iran's northern border. At its closest point, they were about 97 kilometres from the Iranian city of Tabriz, which was hit by Israel during the conflict.

Apart from that, there were also special commando units, intelligence-gathering missions and drone operations through which Israel got first-hand information about northern Iran. 

The forces were initially planned to be rescue teams, but they expanded operations into military and intelligence.

How Neighbouring Countries Played Role In Operations Against Iran

The quiet deployment in Azerbaijan is only one of the few military positions in the Middle East that gave Israel unprecedented access to Iran. The posting only shows how big of a role the neighbouring countries played to assist in operations against Tehran.

Besides Azerbaijan, military sites were based in Iraq, the United Arab Emirates and Somaliland, covering Iran's southern, western, and northern periphery during the conflict. 

The report stated that the Azerbaijan operation consisted of several dozen troops that included Israel's special operations forces and its elite heliborne combat and rescue force and even Mossad personnel.

Azerbaijan Rejects Claims

However, the embassy in Azerbaijan refuted the claims and said, "We firmly reject unfounded claims regarding the alleged use of Azerbaijan's territory for operations against third countries."

Somaliland, the unrecognised Horn of Africa republic, also gave Israel a potential waypoint for long-range strikes on Iran, one source said. Israel recognised Somaliland in December, the first country to do so, and the UAE holds a significant commercial and military stake in its port city of Berbera.

During the war with Iran, Israel also operated two covert facilities inside Iraq, used for logistics and potentially search-and-rescue missions, the Wall Street Journal and New York Times first reported. Iraq's military denied any unauthorised foreign bases or forces were present in the country as of early March.

Israel also deployed an Iron Dome battery to the UAE, along with the soldiers to operate it, during the war, first reported by Axios, along with other defence systems. CNN reported earlier that Netanyahu, the Mossad chief, and Israel's military chief all visited the UAE during the war, a claim the UAE strongly denied.

Preparations For Deployment Began Weeks Before Iran War

Israel has long seen Azerbaijan as a key partner in its campaign against Iran, and preparations began weeks before the war's first strikes. In mid-January, as Iran violently suppressed mass protests, Israel quietly launched a covert operation along the Azerbaijan-Iran border, according to the report, installing listening devices and surveillance equipment to lay the groundwork for further action.

The operation involved Israeli Air Force stealth jets and special forces, carried out as Israel's political leadership had concluded that US-Iran negotiations would collapse. The site gave Israel another window into Iranian military movements and facilities and a potential early-warning post for incoming missile launches.

Operations Launched From Azerbaijan

Among the operations launched from Azerbaijan was the March 4 killing of Rahman Moghaddam, who led the IRGC's intelligence division and whom Israel accused of orchestrating a 2024 assassination plot against Trump, one source said.

Two days later, Azerbaijan's State Security Service announced it had dismantled an Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps plot targeting critical infrastructure and Israeli and Jewish targets. Weeks later, Israel publicly confirmed it was a joint operation involving the Mossad, the military, and the Shin Bet.

The two countries' partnership runs deep. Baku supplies Israel with a significant share of its oil; Israel in turn sells Azerbaijan advanced weapons, some used against Armenia in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflicts of 2016 and 2020. Azerbaijan was also the first country to buy Israel's Iron Dome system, in 2016.