Israeli F-35 fighter jets stationed in Azerbaijan?

In a special report titled “Israel and Azerbaijan are in one trench against Iran” published in Elaph, a Saudi run, London based, Arab language news service, a “senior source” claimed that two Israeli F-35 stealth fighter jets have been “permanently stationed” in Azerbaijan. The source claimed that Israel had assured Azerbaijan that it “stands by it in its crisis with Iran, and will provide it with all possible assistance, and is ready to participate technically and from the air to repel any attack launched by Tehran on Azeri territory.”

The report also claimed that Israel has “a military airport in Azerbaijan, in addition to monitoring, reconnaissance, and espionage sites, and that it permanently flies spy planes from this airport in the direction of Iran. The sources also say that two Israeli F-35 planes are always present in Azerbaijan, and Israel can bring in another number of its fighters there when needed.”

On March 29, 2012, officials stated that Israel was granted access to airbases in Azerbaijan through a “series of political and military understandings.” Israeli and Azerbaijani officials denied these reports. On September 30, 2012, it was reported that Azerbaijan and Israel jointly examined the use of Azerbaijani air bases and spy drones to help Israeli jets perform a long-range strike on Iran.

The report comes after an accusation by Iranian Foreign Minister Hussein Amir Abdullahian that large-scale military drills in the north of the country close to the Azerbaijani border were due to “Zionists present in Azerbaijan.”

"Those who dig a hole for their brothers will be the first to fall into it," Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei tweeted the following day.

In July 2020, Azerbaijan denied that its airspace was used for a drone attack on Iranian nuclear facilities.

Moreover, it is worthy to note that on 8 October, Ozcan Alash, head of the Association for the Development of Trade with Iran in Turkey, said that "trade between Iran and Turkey has been suspended due to the tense situation on the Iranian-Azerbaijani border."

Signals from Azerbaijani Embassy in Iran

The official account of the Azerbaijani embassy in Iran shared a photo on the anniversary of the liberation of Hadrut. The photo shows a soldier of the Rapid Reaction Forces of the State Border Service and an Israeli-made TAR-21 submachine gun.

Earlier, on September 29, the ambassadors of the United Kingdom and Azerbaijan to Iran also met after tension arose between Azerbaijan and Iran.

On September 12, Azerbaijan set up a police and customs post on the border with Armenia, on the Goris-Kapan Road passing through Azerbaijan, and began imposing customs duties on vehicles with Iranian license plates entering the country. Drivers’ documents and the cargo of Iranian state-registered vehicles were checked and two Iranian drivers transporting goods to Stepanakert/Khankendi were detained. Azerbaijan said they entered the country illegally.

This has strained relations between Tehran and Baku. Another source of tension is the start of military exercises by the Iranian army on the other side of the Araz, in the area from Aslanduz to Iranian Julfa, which is in front of the territories liberated by the Azerbaijani army along the border.

Amid tensions over the shipment of Iranian trucks to Karabakh via Armenia, Azerbaijani presidential aide Hikmet Hajiyev met with the Iranian Ambassador to Azerbaijan Seyed Abbas Mousavi twice in three days.

On September 27, President Ilham Aliyev flagged that this was not the first time that Iranian trucks had entered Karabakh illegally.