CNN reported four people familiar with the matter said Israel secretly deployed
elite military and intelligence units to Azerbaijan during the war with Iran as
part of a network of covert bases across the Middle East to support operations
against Iran. Two sources said those units operated at several locations in
southern Azerbaijan near Iran’s northern border, the closest roughly 60 miles
from Tabriz; Israel has struck Tabriz during the war. Two other sources said
special operations forces were also deployed there to carry out intelligence
collection and UAV/drone missions, giving Israel an observation high ground over
northern Iran. Sources said the Azerbaijan sites are one of multiple secret
facilities across several countries, including Iraq, the UAE and Somaliland. The
forces were initially planned as potential emergency rescue teams but were later
expanded into military and intelligence hubs.
