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June 05, 2026
Report: Israel deployed troops to Azerbaijan during Iran war
Israel deployed troops to Azerbaijan during the war with Iran as part of a secret network across the region, a report by CNN says.
According to four sources familiar with the matter, Israel deployed the special units and intelligence teams as part of a broader network of covert sites across the Middle East intended to support operations against Iran.
Two of the sources said the forces operated from multiple locations in southern Azerbaijan near the Iranian border, including a site reportedly located around 100 kilometers (approximately 62 miles) from the Iranian city of Tabriz, which has itself been targeted in previous Israeli strikes.
According to the sources, the forces were initially intended to serve as emergency rescue teams, but their role was later expanded into military and intelligence positions used for information gathering. Two of the sources added that the units carried out intelligence collection missions and operated drones, providing Israel with a valuable surveillance vantage point that allowed it to monitor developments in northern Iran during the war.
One of the sources said the deployment involved several dozen personnel, including commandos, members of an airborne rescue and combat unit and Mossad agents.
The sources further said that the sites were part of a broader network of covert Israeli military bases and facilities across several countries, including the United Arab Emirates, Iraq and Somaliland. According to one source, the latter provided Israel with a strategic foothold during the conflict, enabling Israeli aircraft to use it as a potential stopover point for reaching Iran.
Last month, The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times reported that Israel had two military outposts in Iraq during the war.
According to U.S. officials cited in those reports, the facilities were built with American knowledge shortly before the outbreak of the military campaign and were used to house special forces, as well as serve as a logistical hub for the Israel Air Force.
The facilities reportedly hosted search-and-rescue teams in case Israeli pilots were downed in Iran. When a U.S. F-15 fighter jet was reportedly shot down near Isfahan, Israel offered assistance, but U.S. forces carried out the rescue themselves, according to one of the sources.
Israeli Air Force special forces, trained in commando-style operations in hostile territory, were also present at the sites.
Iraqi security sources said Israel used the facilities, among other purposes, for aircraft refueling and medical treatment. According to two Middle Eastern sources, the outposts were intended to be temporary but proved highly significant in practice.
The information provided by the sources suggests that at least one of the bases had been known to the United States since June 2025, and possibly earlier, and that Washington did not inform Iraq, its ally, that a hostile state was operating on its territory.
According to Middle Eastern sources, U.S. involvement in Iraq's security arrangements strengthened Israel's assessment that it could operate with relative secrecy and freedom in the country.
During both wars with Iran, two Iraqi security officials said, Washington compelled Iraq to shut down its radar systems to protect U.S. aircraft.
A spokesperson for the Azerbaijani embassy in the United States said in a statement to CNN that they rejected the claims regarding "the alleged use of Azerbaijan's territory for operations against third countries."
