The IDF has weaved a network of clandestine positions in several countries neighboring Iran, sometimes even without the knowledge of their governments. These installations, originally designed for emergency missions, gradually evolved into real intelligence posts.
Israel would have secretly deployed military units and elite intelligence services in Azerbaijan, as part of a clandestine network system woven across the Middle East, with a view to facilitating its operations against Iran, according to reports. revelations from the American media CNN.
These forces operated from several bases established in southern Azerbaijan, close to the Iranian border. The most advanced of them was located approximately 100 kilometers from Tabriz, an Iranian city targeted by Israeli strikes during the conflict.
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Special forces commandos were also reportedly deployed there to conduct intelligence missions and drone operations, giving Israel a prime position to monitor northern Iran in times of war. This presence would also have provided the Hebrew state with an advanced base capable of hosting air rescue missions in the event of downed pilots.
“A blatant manipulation of information,” according to Baku
The operation in Azerbaijan involved several dozen soldiers, including members of Israel’s special forces, its elite airborne combat and rescue unit, and Mossad personnel, one of Azerbaijan’s sources said. CNN.
However, the authorities have strongly denied this information. A spokesperson for the Azerbaijani embassy in the United States said in a statement to CNN : “We strongly reject unfounded allegations regarding the alleged use of Azerbaijani territory for operations against third countries.â€
Azerbaijan Media Development Agency also stated: “The release of this information is intended to sow confusion in the international community, undermine regional stability and interstate relations, and create tension in the region… Such fabricated allegations constitute blatant manipulation of information.…
Iraq, the United Arab Emirates and Somaliland also affected
But Azerbaijan would not be Israel’s only secret base. Other clandestine bases, located in Iraq or the United Arab Emirates, would complete this secret Israeli network. This is also the case for Somaliland. This separatist region in the Horn of Africa would have provided Israel with an additional base, allowing its planes to stop there during long-distance flights towards Iran.
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In December, Israel became the first state to officially recognize this territory. In Iraq, the IDF also used two secret facilities during part of the conflict, used as logistical support points and, where necessary, for search and rescue missions, according to joint revelations from the Wall Street Journal a you New York Times.
For its part, Baghdad denied this information, declaring in a statement that at the beginning of March, there were no “base ou force not authorized”. Finally, in the United Arab Emirates, Israel deployed its “Iron Dome”, an anti-missile defense system designed to intercept short-range rockets and missiles.
“Israeli strategy in Azerbaijan remains deliberately discreet”
As for Azerbaijan, Israeli preparations began several weeks before the first strikes, according to CNN. As early as mid-January, while Iran was violently repressing demonstrations, Israel was already leading a secret mission along the Azerbaijani-Iranian border. It was a preliminary operation aimed at preparing future actions, in particular by the installation of listening devices and intelligence equipment, according to two sources cited by the American media.
Israel and Azerbaijan have close ties over commercial and military interests. Baku supplies Israel with a large part of its oil. In return, Israel sells advanced weapons to Azerbaijan, some of which were used during the Nagorno-Karabakh conflicts in 2016 and 2020 against Armenia. Azerbaijan was also the first foreign country to purchase Israel’s air defense system in 2016.
“Israeli strategy in Azerbaijan remains deliberately discreet. It is based on arms transfers, intelligence cooperation and long-term technological interdependence in the security sector.”wrote Gershon Kogan, Iran specialist at the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies, in comments reported by CNN.
