Israel secretly deployed elite military and intelligence units to Azerbaijan during the war with Iran as part of a network of covert sites across the Middle East to facilitate operations against Iran, four sources familiar with the matter told CNN on Friday. The forces operated out of several locations in southern Azerbaijan, two of the sources said, adjacent to Iran’s northern border and, at its closest point, only about 60 miles from the Iranian city of Tabriz, which Israel struck during the war. Special commando units were also deployed to the location and carried out intelligence-gathering missions and drone operations, the other two sources said, giving Israel a valuable perch from which to see into northern Iran during the war. The secret deployment to Azerbaijan, reported by CNN for the first time, was one of several military positions Israel maintained across the Middle East that gave its military unprecedented reach, highlighting the role Iran’s neighbors played in facilitating operations against Tehran and becoming entangled in the conflict. Together, the deployments described by the sources placed Israeli forces along Iran’s southern, western, and northern periphery during the war, extending the military’s range by hundreds of miles, deep into Iranian territory. The Azerbaijan operation consisted of several dozen troops, including members of Israel’s special operations forces, its elite heliborne combat and rescue force, and Mossad personnel, one of the sources said. In return, a spokesperson for the Azerbaijani embassy in the United States said in a statement to CNN, “We firmly reject unfounded claims regarding the alleged use of Azerbaijan’s territory for operations against third countries.” Israel has long viewed Azerbaijan as a strategic partner in its fight against Iran, and the preparations began weeks before the opening strikes of the war. In mid-January, as Iran crushed wide-scale protests with the mass killing of demonstrators, Israel prepared a covert mission along the Azerbaijan-Iran border, two of the sources familiar with the plans told CNN. Israel was planning to execute the operation under cover of what were to be the opening strikes of the war in mid-January. But US President Donald Trump called off the strikes at the last minute, saying that Iran had agreed to stop the killing of demonstrators. Israel proceeded on its own. The Israeli Air Force used stealth jets and special forces as part of the operation to install the devices, as Israel’s political leadership believed negotiations between the US and Iran were doomed to fail. The intelligence-gathering site became another means by which Israel could collect information on Iranian military movements and facilities, as well as potentially providing early warning of missile launches. Joint Operations One of the key operations launched from Azerbaijan, one of the sources said, was the killing on March 4 of Rahman Moghaddam, who led the Revolutionary Guard Corps’ (IRGC) intelligence division and who Israel said was responsible for planning an assassination attempt against Trump in 2024. Israel and Azerbaijan maintain close ties around commercial and military interests. Baku provides Israel with a large share of its oil. In return, Israel sells Azerbaijan advanced weaponry. “Israeli strategy in Azerbaijan remains deliberately low-profile, relying on arms transfers, intelligence cooperation, and long-term technological interdependence in the security sector,” wrote Gershon Kogan, a specialist on Iran at the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies, before the Iran war began. The relationship also gives Azerbaijan access to a critical diplomatic resource, according to Joshua Kucera, a senior analyst for the Crisis Group, allowing Baku to utilize Israel’s lobby in Washington, DC.
