Israel secretly deployed elite military and intelligence units to Azerbaijan during the war with Iran, using sites near the Iranian border to gather intelligence and conduct drone operations, according to four sources familiar with the matter. The forward posi
By the time drones began striking from the edge of Azerbaijan, the plan had already been in motion for weeks.
Israel secretly deployed elite military and intelligence units to Azerbaijan during the war with Iran as part of a network of covert sites across multiple countries 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. At its closest point, the locations were 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, two other sources said. The setup, the sources said, gave Israel a vantage point to see into northern Iran during the conflict.
The Azerbaijan deployment. reported for the first time. was one of several military positions Israel maintained across the Middle East that gave its forces an unusually wide reach. The sources described the broader network as spanning multiple countries. with some neighbors playing roles with permission and others “likely without.” Together. the described deployments placed Israeli forces along Iran’s southern. western. and northern periphery during the war. extending the military’s range by hundreds of miles and helping sustain repeated waves of strikes against targets across Iran.
The operation in Azerbaijan included several dozen troops, the sources said. It involved members of Israel’s special operations forces, its elite heliborne combat and rescue force, and Mossad personnel, one source said.
A spokesperson for the Azerbaijani embassy in the United States rejected the claim in a statement to CNN: “We firmly reject unfounded claims regarding the alleged use of Azerbaijan’s territory for operations against third countries.” CNN said it reached out to the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office and Israel Defense Forces for comment.
The same coverage described other covert footholds during the war. Israel’s military maintained two secret facilities in Iraq during part of the conflict. providing forward bases for logistics support and. if needed. search and rescue operations. The two sites in Iraq were first reported by the Wall Street Journal and New York Times. In a statement. Iraq’s military said there were no “unauthorized bases or forces” in the country as of early March.
Israel also deployed an Iron Dome aerial defense battery to the UAE—along with troops to operate it—during the war with Iran. first reported by Axios. as well as other defense systems. CNN previously reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. the head of the Mossad. and Israel’s military chief visited the UAE during the war. and CNN said the UAE responded with a strong denial.
Another point of the network was Somaliland on the Horn of Africa. where. one source said. Israel gained an additional military position. The claim was that the base could provide a place for Israeli aircraft to potentially stop on long-range flights to Iran. CNN said it reached out to Somaliland’s foreign ministry for comment. CNN reported that in December. Israel became the first country to formally recognize Somaliland. and that the UAE maintains a commercial and military presence in the port city of Berbera.
In Azerbaijan, the value of the forward position was not only in striking—it was also in responding and watching. The sources said Israel used the locations for aerial rescue missions if pilots were downed and for positions from which to spy on Iran.
The preparations began before the opening strikes. Israel had long viewed Azerbaijan as a strategic partner in its fight against Iran. and the sources said preparations started weeks before the war began. 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 sources said the plan involved a preliminary operation laying the groundwork for additional steps by installing listening devices and intelligence equipment in the area.
Israel intended to carry out the operation under cover of the opening strikes in mid-January. But U.S. President Donald Trump called off the strikes at the last minute after saying Iran agreed to stop the killing of demonstrators. Israel then proceeded on its own.
The Israeli Air Force used stealth jets and special forces to install the devices, according to the sources’ account. Israel’s political leadership believed negotiations between the US and Iran were doomed to fail. The intelligence site. the sources said. was another way to collect information on Iranian military movements and facilities and potentially provide early warning of missile launches.
Less than two weeks later, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar visited Baku and met with the Azerbaijani president and other top officials. In May 2025, CNN reported, Azerbaijan also secretly hosted rare direct talks between Israel and Syria.
The Azerbaijan base became part of a series of incidents during the war. One operation launched from Azerbaijan. one source said. involved 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. President Ilham 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, Israel’s military, and Shin Bet security service.
Israel and Azerbaijan also sustain ties that go beyond wartime cooperation. CNN said Baku provides Israel with a large share of its oil. while Israel sells Azerbaijan advanced weaponry—some of which were used in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflicts in 2016 and 2020 against Armenia. CNN also reported that Azerbaijan was the first foreign country to purchase Israel’s Iron Dome aerial defense system in 2016.
Before the Iran war began. Gershon Kogan. a specialist on Iran at the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies. wrote: “Israeli strategy in Azerbaijan remains deliberately low-profile. relying on arms transfers. intelligence cooperation. and long-term technological interdependence in the security sector.” Joshua Kucera. a senior analyst for the Crisis Group. told CNN that the relationship gives Azerbaijan access to a critical diplomatic resource. allowing Baku to utilize Israel’s lobby in Washington. DC.
Kucera said: “Azerbaijan is increasingly trying to position itself as a regional power, and that includes being a sort of bridge at times between Israel and Arab and other states.” He also said: “If Israel is a tool in helping Azerbaijan combat IRGC destabilization efforts, it’s very secret.”
For Israel, Azerbaijan appears to have served as more than a partner on paper. It became—at least during the war—a forward edge for intelligence work and drone operations. positioned close enough to Iran that the distance could be measured in tens of miles. and far enough to turn geography into leverage.
For Azerbaijan, the claims have been met with denial. Its embassy’s spokesperson said Azerbaijan rejects “unfounded claims” about the use of its territory for operations against third countries, placing the tension between strategic alignment and sovereignty at the center of the controversy.
Israel Azerbaijan Iran war special forces Mossad Shin Bet drone operations IRGC Tabriz Nakhchivan Iron Dome Somaliland Iraq covert bases