Exclusive: Israel sent troops to Azerbaijan during Iran war as part of secret network across region, sources say

Summary

• Israel secretly deployed elite special forces to Azerbaijan during the war with Iran, sources tell CNN.
• The deployment was part of a covert network of military sites across multiple countries including Iraq, the UAE and Somaliland.
• The forward positions extended Israel’s military reach by hundreds of miles, deep into Iranian territory, during the conflict.

AI-generated summary was reviewed by a CNN editor.

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.

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 forward positions helped Israel sustain repeated waves of strikes against targets across the country.

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.”

CNN has reached out to the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office and Israel Defense Forces for comment.

Meanwhile, the breakaway republic of Somaliland on the Horn of Africa provided Israel with an additional military position, one of the sources said, allowing Israeli aircraft a point to potentially stop on long-range flights to Iran. In December, Israel became the first country to formally recognize Somaliland, and the UAE maintains an expansive commercial and military presence in the port city of Berbera.

CNN, which is the first to report on the use of covert Israeli military sites in Somaliland, has reached out to its foreign ministry for comment.

The Israeli military also maintained two secret facilities in Iraq during part of the war with Iran, providing Israel with 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 quietly deployed an Iron Dome aerial defense battery to the UAE – and the troops to operate it – during the war with Iran, first reported by Axios, as well as other defense systems. CNN has previously reported that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the head of the Mossad and Israel’s military chief visited the UAE during the war. The revelation prompted a strong denial of the visit from the UAE.

The military presence in Azerbaijan gave Israel another base from which to conduct aerial rescue missions in case of downed pilots as well as positions from which to spy on Iran.

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. The sources described it as a preliminary operation laying the groundwork for additional steps by installing listening devices and intelligence equipment in the area.

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.

Less than two weeks later, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar visited Baku, meeting with the Azerbaijani president and other top officials. In May 2025, Azerbaijan also secretly hosted rare direct talks between Israel and Syria.

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 Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ (IRGC) intelligence division and who 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 that it had broken up an IRGC plot to attack critical infrastructure, as well as Israeli and Jewish targets. Weeks later, Israel publicly acknowledged that it was a joint operation, involving the Mossad, Israeli military, and Shin Bet security service.

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, some of which were used in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflicts in 2016 and 2020 against Armenia. Azerbaijan was also the first foreign country to purchase Israel’s Iron Dome aerial defense system in 2016.

“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.

“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,” Kucera said.

“If Israel is a tool in helping Azerbaijan combat IRGC destabilization efforts, it’s very secret,” Kucera said.