Israel's Secret Military Network in Azerbaijan Enabled Iran Operations

In the months before and during its conflict with Iran, Israel quietly moved dozens of military personnel into Azerbaijan—special forces operatives, elite commando units, and intelligence agents from the Mossad. They established themselves at several locations in the country's south, positioned along the border with Iran and, at their closest point, roughly 96 kilometers from the Iranian city of Tabriz, which Israel would later strike during the war. The deployment was part of a larger, deliberately concealed infrastructure of military positions scattered across the Middle East: bases in Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, and Somaliland, each one extending Israel's operational reach deeper into and around Iranian territory.

These weren't permanent garrisons. The forces were originally conceived as rescue teams—rapid-response units ready to extract downed pilots or respond to emergencies. But their role expanded. From the Azerbaijani locations, Israeli special command units conducted intelligence gathering and drone operations, giving the country an elevated vantage point to monitor Iran's northern regions throughout the conflict. The broader network of positions—stretching along Iran's southern, western, and northern borders—allowed Israeli forces to sustain successive waves of attacks across the country, extending their military reach hundreds of kilometers into Iranian territory.

The operation in Azerbaijan involved several dozen personnel, according to sources familiar with the deployment. One source specified the composition: elements of Israel's special operations forces, members of its elite airborne rescue and combat unit, and Mossad operatives. The groundwork began in mid-January, weeks before the initial war attacks. Two sources told CNN that Israel prepared a covert mission along the Azerbaijan-Iran border, a preliminary operation designed to establish the foundation for future actions by installing listening devices and intelligence equipment in the area. Israel had planned to execute this under cover of initial war strikes scheduled for mid-January, but U.S. President Donald Trump canceled those attacks at the last moment, claiming Iran had agreed to end deadly suppression of protesters. Israel proceeded alone, deploying stealth aircraft and special forces to install the devices, having concluded that U.S.-Iran negotiations were destined to fail. The intelligence collection site became another tool for monitoring Iranian military movements and installations, and potentially providing early warning of missile launches.

One of the major operations launched from Azerbaijan, according to a source, was the elimination of Rahman Moghaddam on March 4. Moghaddam led the intelligence division of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and, according to Israel, had planned an assassination attempt against Trump in 2024. A day later, drones struck an airport in the Azerbaijani enclave of Nakhchivan, damaging a terminal and wounding several people. President Ilham Aliyev blamed Iran, calling the attack "an act of terrorism" that was "ugly, cowardly and shameful." Tehran denied launching the drones. On March 6, Azerbaijan's State Security Service announced it had dismantled an alleged IRGC plot to attack critical infrastructure and Israeli and Jewish targets. Weeks later, Israel publicly acknowledged the operation as a joint effort involving the Mossad, Israeli military, and the Shin Bet security service.

Azerbaijan has long been viewed by Israel as a strategic partner in its struggle against Iran. The two countries maintain close ties built on commercial and military interests. Baku supplies Israel with a significant portion of its oil. In return, Israel sells advanced weaponry to Azerbaijan, some of which was used in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflicts in 2016 and 2020 against Armenia. Azerbaijan was also the first foreign country to acquire Israel's Iron Dome air defense system, in 2016. In mid-January, while these military preparations were underway, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar visited Baku and met with the Azerbaijani president and other senior officials. In May 2025, Azerbaijan also secretly hosted rare direct talks between Israel and Syria.

When asked about the deployment, Azerbaijan's embassy in the United States issued a statement rejecting what it called "baseless allegations" about the use of Azerbaijani territory for operations against third countries. Israel's Prime Minister's office and the Israel Defense Forces did not respond to requests for comment. Iraq's military stated that no "unauthorized bases or forces" existed in the country as of early March, though CNN had reported that Israel maintained two secret facilities there during part of the war, providing advanced bases for logistical support and potential search-and-rescue operations.

The strategic relationship between Israel and Azerbaijan extends beyond military cooperation. According to Joshua Kucera, a senior analyst at the Crisis Group, the relationship also gives Azerbaijan access to an important diplomatic resource, allowing Baku to benefit from Israeli influence in Washington. "Azerbaijan is increasingly seeking to position itself as a regional power, and that sometimes includes playing a bridging role between Israel and Arab states and other countries," Kucera said. Gershon Kogan, an Iran expert at the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies, wrote before the war began: "Israeli strategy in Azerbaijan remains deliberately discreet, based on weapons transfers, intelligence cooperation, and long-term technological interdependence in the security sector." As for how this partnership functions in practice, Kucera noted: "If Israel is a tool to help Azerbaijan counter IRGC destabilization efforts, it happens in a very secret way."