Tehran suspects Azerbaijan allowed Israel to access its airspace to strike Iran

Tensions have increased between Iran and Azerbaijan over the last few weeks as Tehran accuses its neighbor of helping to facilitate the large-scale Israeli airstrikes on Iran during the recent Operation Rising Lion military campaign.

Iranian officials reportedly suspect Azerbaijan of permitting the Israeli Air Force (IAF) to use its airspace to carry out strikes targeting Iran’s military and nuclear infrastructure, according to Ynet News.

While Tehran has not issued any formal public accusations, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian is said to have asked Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev to investigate the possibility of Israeli use of Azerbaijani-controlled airspace.

According to Iranian intelligence assessments, the recent airstrikes on sites in Tehran and Karaj were launched through an air corridor over the Caspian Sea, which is partially under Azerbaijani control.

Azerbaijan has denied any accusations of cooperation with Israel, and the growing tensions with Iran prompted local media in Azerbaijan to refer to Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei as “the enemy.”

Azerbaijani news outlet Caliber published an editorial stating, “Iran’s primary enemy is not an individual official or diplomatic actor, but Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei himself,” and accused the ayatollah regime of fueling a “hostile and subversive policy” against Azerbaijan.

“This is not a series of isolated incidents,” the Caliber editorial emphasized. “This is an ideology – and its architect is Ali Khamenei.”

Diplomatic ties between Iran and Azerbaijan were already strained prior to the recent 12-day conflict between Iran and Israel.

Tehran has long sought to undermine the growing alliance between Baku and Jerusalem, while Azerbaijan has accused the Iranian regime of destabilizing the region through aggressive, imperialist policies.

Azerbaijan and Israel maintain strong diplomatic and military cooperation. During a May 2023 visit to the capital, Baku, Israeli President Isaac Herzog emphasized that the Iranian regime poses a shared threat to both nations.

“We need to remember that beyond trade and historic ties – including with the Jewish community – that Azerbaijan is Iran's neighbor,” Herzog stated.  “Iran is a destabilizing influence in the region that is working continuously to act against Israel and against the developing alliance of peace and security in the region, and I will certainly discuss this,” he continued.

Months later, then-Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant expressed similar views ahead of a diplomatic visit to Azerbaijan aimed at deepening defense and security cooperation between the two nations.

“I will present to the Azerbaijanis, in an accurate manner, the global danger of military nuclear weapons in the hands of Iran. I will detail to them the dangerous actions that Iran is doing within the borders of Israel... and throughout the Middle East,” Gallant said at the time.

While antisemitism has become endemic in much of the Muslim world, Jewish leaders have hailed the Muslim-majority country of Azerbaijan as a role model for tolerance towards Jews and other ethnic and religious minorities.

In February, Rabbi Zamir Isayev, who heads the Sephardi community in Baku, praised Azerbaijan for its tolerance toward the local Jewish community.

Marcus Sheff, head of the Institute for Monitoring Peace and Cultural Tolerance in School Education (IMPACT-se), hailed Azerbaijan for rejecting antisemitism and the extremist Islamist ideology of the neighboring ayatollah regime.

"The textbooks demonstrate a clear rejection of the extreme Islamist values promoted by their near-neighbor Iran," Sheff stated. "Instead, they promote tolerance, diversity, and a heartfelt respect for Jews and Israel, which serves as an important model for many other majority-Muslim states."