Tensions Erupt: Did Israel Use Azerbaijani Airspace to Strike Deep into Iran ?

(GEO MILITARY AFFAIRS) — A fresh flashpoint in the volatile Caucasus has thrust Azerbaijan’s deepening ties with Israel under the spotlight, as Tehran now alleges that Baku covertly enabled Israeli fighter jets to breach Iranian airspace and unleash precision strikes during a tense 12-day air campaign.

The Iranian regime, already battling unprecedented internal and external pressures, has formally demanded that Azerbaijan launch an impartial investigation into claims that Israeli aircraft exploited its airspace, particularly the critical Caspian Sea corridor, to bomb targets in and around Tehran with devastating accuracy.

According to senior Iranian security officials, these air raids were “logistically impossible” without a discreet regional partner, pointing squarely at Baku’s decades-old but often understated “energy-for-arms” pact with Tel Aviv — a relationship that now risks inflaming a wider regional confrontation.

Iran’s intelligence circles argue that its strategic allies, including Armenia, Turkmenistan and Russia, would not permit such corridor access, leaving Azerbaijan as the only feasible conduit for Israeli fighter jets and drones to operate deep behind Iranian lines.

In Tehran and Karaj, damage assessments indicate that multiple sites were struck from vectors consistent with air routes crossing the Caspian, while Iranian air defence infrastructure in Kermanshah and Isfahan was reportedly neutralised by precision standoff munitions launched from Iraqi airspace.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, who has vowed to uphold Iran’s air sovereignty amid mounting regional hostilities, is understood to have pressed his Azerbaijani counterpart, President Ilham Aliyev, for categorical answers during a recent phone conversation that underscored Tehran’s growing mistrust of Baku’s regional ambitions.

At the same time, Iranian Ambassador to Armenia Mehdi Sobhani triggered a new diplomatic firestorm, publicly accusing Azerbaijan of tacitly supporting Israel’s aerial incursions.

“We have received information that a small number of drones flew into Iranian territory from the territory of neighbouring countries. Therefore, during a telephone conversation between the presidents of Iran and Azerbaijan, our president asked Aliyev to conduct a serious investigation into this matter. We will await the results of this investigation,” Sobhani stated.

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Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev and Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu

 

He further warned that, “It is possible that our enemy, [Israel], made use of the territory of our neighboring state. Azerbaijan has assured us that it will not allow its territory to be used against Iran. However, we all know [Israel] very well: they do not follow any rules, they do not observe any laws. Therefore, there is still a possibility that they were able to take advantage of the moment.”

Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry fired back with an unambiguous rebuttal, denouncing Sobhani’s remarks as deliberate provocation.

Spokesperson Aykhan Hajizada labelled the envoy’s statement an “open provocation”, insisting, “Azerbaijan categorically refutes allegations that its airspace or territory was used by any state to conduct military operations against the neighbouring [Iran] or any other country. Such claims are baseless and lack any credible evidence.”

Hajizada added pointedly, “We expect Iran to prevent such steps, which are inappropriate to the spirit of our relations, as well as to take necessary steps regarding the opinions voiced by the Ambassador, who regularly demonstrates his pro-Armenian position, rather than represent his country.”

The diplomatic slugfest has re-exposed the stark reality that Azerbaijan’s relationship with Israel, cemented since the early 1990s, is not simply transactional but deeply entrenched in geo-strategic calculations that directly shape the regional balance of power vis-à-vis Tehran.

Energy analysts and military experts estimate that over 60% of Tel Aviv’s oil supply — worth an estimated USD 1.5 billion (approximately RM7.05 billion) annually — flows through pipelines originating in Baku and Kazakhstan, a lifeline that has only grown more vital as Israel sustains its contentious campaigns in Gaza and Lebanon since 7 October 2023.

In exchange, Azerbaijan has transformed into one of the largest buyers of Israeli weapons systems, with nearly 69% of its arms imports sourced from Israel between 2016 and 2021 — a trade reportedly valued at well over USD 5 billion (RM23.5 billion) in that period alone.

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According to Haaretz, “Azerbaijan has allowed the Mossad [Israel’s intelligence agency] to set up a forward branch [in Azerbaijan] to monitor what is happening in Iran, Azerbaijan’s neighbor to the south, and has even prepared an airfield intended to aid Israel in case it decides to attack Iranian nuclear sites.”

“Reports from two years ago stated that the Mossad agents who stole the Iranian nuclear archive smuggled it to Israel via Azerbaijan. According to official reports from Azerbaijan, over the years Israel has sold it the most advanced weapons systems, including ballistic missiles, air defense and electronic warfare systems, kamikaze drones and more.”

Defence analysts note that some of the most impactful tools in Azerbaijan’s modern arsenal have come directly from Israel’s cutting-edge defence sector.

The Barak-8 or Barak MX air defence system, for instance, provides layered interception capabilities against medium-range ballistic missiles and hostile drones — a crucial shield given Baku’s volatile frontlines.

Loitering munitions like the Harop “kamikaze” drone became a defining feature of Azerbaijan’s shock-and-awe strategy during the 2020 and 2023 Nagorno-Karabakh conflicts, relentlessly targeting Armenian command posts and artillery batteries.

Surveillance assets such as the Hermes 450, Heron, Searcher, and Orbiter-2M drones have expanded Baku’s ISR reach, while multi-launch rocket systems like the LAR-160 and modular PULS have boosted its ability to conduct precise standoff strikes far beyond frontlines.

With the Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) and Elbit Systems reaping lucrative multi-million-dollar contracts, Baku’s arsenal now reportedly includes advanced ballistic missiles, modern air defence layers, electronic warfare suites and cutting-edge drone swarms — an inventory that not only tilts the tactical balance but directly feeds Tehran’s perception of encirclement.

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Fuel tanks from Israeli fighter jets were found in Iran’s sector of the Caspian Sea.

 

Beyond its bilateral significance, the deepening Israel-Azerbaijan security axis has profound implications for the broader Middle East and South Caucasus.

Iranian strategists increasingly fear a “northern front” that could facilitate Mossad sabotage operations, covert drone strikes, or even serve as a launchpad for future pre-emptive raids on Iranian nuclear infrastructure, should Israel’s strategic calculus demand it.

As regional players watch this shadow war unfold, one thing is certain: the “energy-for-arms” alliance between Baku and Tel Aviv has become far more than an economic marriage of convenience — it is now a pivotal piece of the ever-shifting geo-strategic chessboard shaping Iran’s security calculus and the fragile balance of power across the Caspian and beyond.

— GEO MILITARY AFFAIRS

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