Israel built secret base in Azerbaijan for operations against Iran, sources say

Israel established a covert military base on Azerbaijani soil and used it to conduct operations against Iran, sources familiar with the matter said.

Citing four sources with direct knowledge of the matter, CNN reported Thursday that Israel built a network of secret military bases across the Middle East, deploying elite military and intelligence personnel in southern Azerbaijan, which shares a border with northern Iran.

Israeli special forces and Mossad agents carried out drone operations and intelligence-gathering missions from Azerbaijan, according to the report.

The base gave Israeli forces a critical vantage point for monitoring northern Iran during the war. Some personnel advanced to positions just 96 kilometers from Tabriz in northwestern Iran.

Sources said Israel had been preparing covert operations in Azerbaijan weeks before the war with Iran began on Feb. 28.

According to CNN, preparations on the ground began in mid-January, several weeks before hostilities broke out.

That period coincided with Donald Trump criticizing Iran's violent crackdown on anti-government protests and raising the possibility of a military response.

Israel installed intelligence-gathering equipment in Azerbaijan in line with the hardening US stance. It continued independently deploying eavesdropping devices using stealth aircraft even after Trump shelved plans for airstrikes against Iran.

Azerbaijan strongly denied that Israel had built a secret military base on its territory.

A spokesperson for the Azerbaijani Embassy in Washington told CNN in a statement that the country "categorically rejects the baseless claims that Azerbaijani territory was used for operations against a third country."

Israel was previously reported to have established covert military bases in Iraq, the United Arab Emirates and Somaliland as well.

The reports suggest Israel built bases on foreign soil along Iran's western, southern and northern borders and used them to conduct military operations against Tehran.