High alert for Iranian disruption of Herzog visit to Azerbaijan

BAKU - President Isaac Herzog and President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev held in-depth discussions of the Iranian threat in Baku on Tuesday, with Herzog flanked by greater levels of security than usual, amid concerns that Tehran would attempt to disrupt the visit.

“We look at the regional security structure that is threatened by Iran - a topic that we discussed in depth,” Herzog said following his meeting with Aliyev, “and we expect to develop cooperation between us in many fields.” 

The Iranian border with Azerbaijan is about 100 miles from the capital, Baku.

To prepare for possible Iran-backed attempts to endanger Herzog’s visit, Azeri forces and the Shin Bet (Israel Security Agency) cooperated, shutting down entire areas of Baku. Thousands of soldiers and police offers were tasked with patrolling the capital. 

In an unusual move, the entire delegation was prohibited from connecting their phones to cellular networks or from separating from the group during the visit. 

Iran and Azerbaijan share a 670-kilometer border, and there has long been speculation that Israeli uses Iran’s northern neighbor as a launching pad for covert operations.

Last year, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian accused Israel of having established a presence throughout Azerbaijan, and the Islamic Republic has staged military drills along the border in the past year. In response, Aliyev posed for photos with Israeli Harop kamikaze drones produced in his country.

Foreign Minister Eli Cohen also focused on Iran in remarks to the “Slevkov Forum” of foreign ministers from Czechia, Slovakia and Austria. 

“We are at a point of no return in the battle against the Iranian nuclear program,” Cohen said. “Europe understands better than ever that Iran has become a global threat…Yesterday, Gulf States and Israel were in Iran's crosshairs; today it’s Ukraine. If we don’t act together now, it will be too late.”

Aliyev mentioned after his meeting with Herzog that “Azerbaijan has access to Israeli equipment for many years that allows us to modernize our defense capability and allows us to defend our statehood, our national interests and our territorial integrity.”

He also said that his country recently began cooperating with Israel in the area of cybersecurity.

Azerbaijan's strengthening relations with Israel

Israel and Azerbaijan have long had a close defense relationship, with the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute finding that 69% of Azerbaijan’s arms imports in 2016-2020 came from Israel, which represented 17% of Israel’s arms exports in that period.

Aliyev pointed to centuries of Jewish history in Azerbaijan, and called the Jewish community “a big asset to our country.”

“Jewish citizens of Azerbaijan contribute a lot for the modern development in our country,” he said. “Jews in Azerbaijan always active prominent part of our society and remain that way today.”

Herzog also mentioned the “unique Jewish heritage” in Azerbaijan, and said that their coexistence and Jerusalem-Baku relations are “a joint vision of peace between Jews and Muslims. This is a Muslim country with a Shi’ite majority, yet there is love and affection between our nations. That is an example of how we can move forward.”

About 40% of the petroleum imported to Israel comes from Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan is interested in Israeli agriculture and water technology, especially desalinization to counter droughts in the country.

The presidents also discussed tourism between the countries and increasing the number of direct flights to more than the current four per week.

The Israeli Embassy in Baku hosted a reception honoring the 75th anniversary of Israel's establishment, with a band playing Israeli anthem Hatikva and the Naomi Shemer song "Lu Yehi" on traditional Azerbaijani instruments. 

Health and Interior Minister Moshe Arbel accompanied Herzog on the trip, and signed an agreement with his Azerbaijani counterpart for greater cooperation in training doctors, emergency preparedness and digital health.

Herzog then laid a wreath at the grave of former Azerbaijani president Heydar Aliyev, father of the current president, and at a memorial for Ottoman soldiers killed in Azerbaijan in World War I.

In the evening, the president will hold a special event marking the 75th anniversary of Israel's independence.

Azerbaijan opened an embassy in Israel for the first time this March. Israel has had an embassy in Baku since 1993.

Baku had been hesitant to open an embassy in Israel in the past to avoid alienating other Muslim-majority states or provoking Iran. But it saw the Abraham Accords and Israel’s recent rapprochement with Turkey, in which Aliyev played a part, as turning points.

Azeri politicians attributed the move to open an embassy in Israel to Iran opening an additional consulate and declaring close ties with Armenia, with which Azerbaijan fought a war in 2020.