{"id":477570,"date":"2026-06-05T11:07:11","date_gmt":"2026-06-05T11:07:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/477570\/"},"modified":"2026-06-05T11:07:11","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T11:07:11","slug":"report-israel-secretly-deployed-idf-troops-to-azerbaijan-near-irans-border-amid-war-sources-say","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/477570\/","title":{"rendered":"Report: Israel Secretly Deployed IDF Troops to Azerbaijan Near Iran’s Border Amid War, Sources Say"},"content":{"rendered":"

Israel deployed special commando soldiers to Azerbaijan near its border with Iran during the most recent Israeli-U.S. war against the country, as part of a broader network of covert sites across the Middle East, CNN reported on Friday, citing four sources familiar with the matter.<\/p>\n

Two of the sources told CNN<\/a> that 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.<\/p>\n

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. 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.<\/p>\n

\"Elex<\/a><\/p>\n

One of the sources said the deployment involved several dozen personnel, including commandos, members of an airborne rescue and combat unit and Mossad agents.<\/p>\n

\"The\"TheClose<\/p>\n

The likely area in which Israeli forces reportedly operated.<\/p>\n

The likely area in which Israeli forces reportedly operated.<\/p>\n

The sources further said that the sites were part of a network of secret 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. <\/p>\n

Haaretz Podcast\u2018There\u2019s a lot of anger at Israel in the Gulf\u2019: Gregg Carlstrom on Lebanon, Gaza and the cease-fire with Iran that feels like war <\/p>\n

play<\/p>\n

Haaretz Podcast<\/p>\n

\u2018There\u2019s a lot of anger at Israel in the Gulf\u2019: Gregg Carlstrom on Lebanon, Gaza and the cease-fire with Iran that feels like war <\/p>\n

Volume: 0.5<\/p>\n

X1<\/p>\n

total– : –time0:00<\/p>\n

fast forward15<\/p>\n

play<\/p>\n

rewind15<\/p>\n

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.”<\/p>\n

Last month, The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times reported that Israel had two military outposts in Iraq during the war<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Israeli\"IsraeliClose<\/p>\n

Israeli President Issac Herzog, left, next to Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev, earlier this year. Credit: Kobi Gideon\/GPO<\/p>\n

Israeli President Issac Herzog, left, next to Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev, earlier this year. Credit: Kobi Gideon\/GPO<\/p>\n

According to U.S. officials cited in those reports, the facilities were built with U.S. knowledge shortly before the outbreak of the military campaign and were used to house special forces and serve as a logistical hub for the Israel Air Force. <\/p>\n

Related Articles<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Israeli Air Force special forces, trained in commando-style operations in hostile territory, were also present at the sites.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Last month, Al Araby reported<\/a> that the United States told Iraq to keep its forces away from the Najaf desert for security reasons, while Israel set up a secret military outpost in the area for striking Iran.<\/p>\n

\"A\"AClose<\/p>\n

A shepherd leads his herd through the Najaf desert in southwestern Iraq. Credit: AFP\/QASSEM AL-KAABI<\/p>\n

A shepherd leads his herd through the Najaf desert in southwestern Iraq. Credit: AFP\/QASSEM AL-KAABI<\/p>\n

“Iraq was unable to identify the force that was stationed in the Najaf desert two months ago,” the source reportedly said.<\/p>\n

Another Iraqi security source cited in an Al Jazeera report reportedly said Baghdad “had no indication during the war of an Israeli force in the country’s western desert,” adding, “It is likely that it was an American force.”<\/p>\n

According to the source, “Disruption and early warning devices were identified in western Iraq, and currently there is no military force on the ground.”<\/p>\n

The Israeli airborne landings in the Najaf desert and in Samawah “were uncoordinated,” the source reportedly said. “The area discussed in the media is a desert completely isolated from security forces and civilians.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Israel deployed special commando soldiers to Azerbaijan near its border with Iran during the most recent Israeli-U.S. war…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":477571,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[85,46,43],"class_list":["post-477570","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-israel","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/477570","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=477570"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/477570\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/477571"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=477570"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=477570"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=477570"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}