Newsletters
Israel secretly deployed elite military and intelligence units to Azerbaijan during its war with Iran, operating from locations near Iran's northern border as part of a broader network of covert sites across the Middle East, four sources familiar with the matter told CNN.
The forces operated from several locations in southern Azerbaijan, two of the sources said, adjacent to Iran's northern border and, at its closest point, approximately 60 miles (96 kilometers) from the Iranian city of Tabriz, which Israel struck during the war.
"Israeli special commando units deployed to the area carried out intelligence-gathering missions and drone operations," the other two sources said, giving Tel Aviv a vantage point into northern Iran throughout the conflict.
"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 speaking to CNN said.
An Azerbaijani embassy spokesperson said in a statement to CNN: "We firmly reject unfounded claims regarding the alleged use of Azerbaijan's territory for operations against third countries."
Preparations in Azerbaijan started weeks before the war's opening strikes, according to the report.
In mid-January, as Iran crushed mass protests with the killing of demonstrators, Israel prepared a covert mission along the Azerbaijan-Iran border, two sources told CNN.
The operation involved installing listening devices and intelligence equipment in the area, carried out using stealth jets and special forces.
Israel had planned the operation to coincide with what were to be the opening strikes of the war in mid-January, but U.S. President Donald Trump called off those strikes at the last minute, saying Iran had agreed to stop killing demonstrators. Israel proceeded with the border operation on its own, believing U.S.-Iran negotiations were doomed to fail.
Less than two weeks later, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar visited Baku, meeting with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and other senior officials.
One of the key operations launched from Azerbaijan, one source said, was the killing on March 4 of Rahman Moghaddam, who led the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' (IRGC) intelligence division and whom Israel said was responsible for planning an assassination attempt against Trump in 2024.
One day later, drones struck an airport in Azerbaijan's enclave of Nakhchivan, damaging a terminal building and wounding several people.
Aliyev blamed Iran, calling it "an act of terror" that was "ugly, cowardly and shameless."
Iran denied launching the drones.
On March 6, Azerbaijan's State Security Service announced it had broken up an IRGC plot to attack critical infrastructure and Israeli and Jewish targets. Weeks later, Israel publicly acknowledged it was a joint operation involving the Mossad, the Israeli military and the Shin Bet security service.
The Azerbaijan deployment was one of several forward military positions Israel maintained across the region, the sources told CNN.
Additional covert sites were located in Iraq, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Somaliland.
The forces, initially planned as potential rescue teams in the event of downed pilots, expanded in scope to become military and intelligence-gathering positions.
Together, the deployments placed Israeli forces along Iran's southern, western and northern periphery, extending the military's range by hundreds of miles deep into Iranian territory and helping Israel sustain repeated waves of strikes.
The breakaway Somaliland region provided Israel with an additional position, one source said, allowing Israeli aircraft a potential stopover point on long-range flights to Iran. In December, Israel became the first country to formally recognize Somaliland.
Israel also maintained two secret facilities in Iraq during part of the war, first reported by the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times, providing forward bases for logistics support and potential search and rescue operations.
Israel quietly deployed an Iron Dome aerial defense battery and operating troops to the UAE during the war with Iran, as first reported by Axios. CNN previously reported that Netanyahu, the head of the Mossad and Israel's military chief, visited the UAE during the war, a visit the UAE strongly denied.
Set as preferred source
Set as preferred source
1 min read
1 min read
