Washington, DC — 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 said. 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 — some with permission, some likely without — in facilitating operations against Tehran and becoming entangled in the conflict.
The locations in Azerbaijan were among numerous covert military sites and bases in multiple countries, the sources told CNN, including in Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, and Somaliland. The forces, initially planned as potential rescue teams in the event of an emergency, expanded in scope to become military and intelligence gathering positions.
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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.
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.”