Azerbaijan and Israel: An Unlikely Friendship

Nestled in the South Caucasus lies Azerbaijan, an oil-rich country that holds significant power and diplomatic sway for a nation of its size. Azerbaijan is a post-Soviet state, having lived under the Soviet Union as the Azerbaijani SSR. However, unlike many pre-Soviet states, Russia is not their closest ally, although the two retain their relations..Turkey and Azerbaijan retain very close relations. Describing each other as "brother nations," Azeri President Ilham Aliyev and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan have a close and personal relationship, and the two nations cooperate frequently and align many aspects of their foreign policy and their mutual pursuit of pan-Turkism..However, whether or not Turkey truly is Azerbaijan's closest ally is debatable. The true answer as to who may hold that title is rather unexpected: Israel..'Like an Iceberg'.In recent years, Israel has provided Azerbaijan with approximately 70 percent of its weaponry. In turn, Azerbaijan is Israel's largest source of oil, making up approximately 45 percent of Israel's oil imports. Beyond what is visible on the surface, there is a significant depth to the unexpectedly close relationship between Azerbaijan, a Muslim yet secularist nation in the South Caucasus, and Israel, the world's sole Jewish nation which lies in the Levant..While some of the depth to this relationship has been found, the rest remains hidden. It is due to this that Aliyev reportedly compared the Israeli-Azeri relationship to an iceberg, stating that "nine-tenths of it is below the surface.".Beyond the clear trade ties with Israeli arms and Azeri oil, Israeli defense companies have established factories in Azerbaijan, Israel has been used to raise Azerbaijan's standing on the world stage, Israeli ministers have called to support Azeri separatism in Iran, and more. Further, Israel has reportedly been granted access to Azeri airfields in the event it would need to launch a significant attack upon Iran, though the legitimacy of these claims, which come from multiple sources, is disputed..Arms for Oil.There are usually many indicators and warnings for when Azerbaijan is preparing to take military action. One such indicator is a noticeable increase in cargo flights from Israel to Azerbaijan..This was evidenced in September 2023. Alongside Azerbaijan testing an Israeli Barak-8 ER air defense system, there was a significant uptick in these flights. In the two and a half weeks before Azerbaijan launched its lightning offensive against the self-declared Republic of Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh), five cargo flights from Israel landed in Azerbaijan. On September 19th, Azerbaijan launched its offensive against Artsakh, forcing the separatist nation into capitulation..The offensive resulted in the mass exodus of virtually all of Artsakh's 120,000 Armenians, an event which has been described by Armenia, France, and a number of others as ethnic cleansing..From 2016 up to the Azeri offensive, a total of 103 flights from Israel had traveled to Azerbaijan. The number of flights increased either preceding or during Azeri conflicts with Armenia, in particular during the 2020 44-Day War (also known as the Second Artsakh/Nagorno-Karabakh War), when 20 flights came into Azerbaijan from Israel between September and November of that year..Israeli weaponry, alongside thousands of Syrian mercenaries, proved pivotal to Azerbaijan's victory in the war. While providing military advantages to Azerbaijan, the 44-Day War became a place for Israel's weaponry to be tested in legitimate combat situations. Such was the case in 2017, when Israeli arms company Aeronautics Defense Systems Ltd live-fire tested a drone they were attempting to sell to Azerbaijan, on a manned Armenian position. Two Armenian soldiers were injured in the incident..In the opening days of the war, though Azerbaijan made gains on the ground, they suffered heavy losses in their armor that were not sustainable. The tides turned significantly when Azerbaijan employed their drone fleet, made up of Turkish Bayraktar's and an array of Israeli drones..From the war there are countless videos which portray groups of Armenian soldiers being killed by the Azeri drones. The weapons proved to be highly effective and were crucial in securing Azerbaijan's essential victory by the time Russia brokered a ceasefire in November..Israel's suppliance of arms goes beyond just drones, though it is one of the most notable parts. Azerbaijan has purchased billions of dollars in weapons from Israel, including air defense systems, artillery systems, satellites, missiles, and more..Further, Israel has established a suicide drone factory in Azerbaijan, though not many details are known about the factory..In 2019, Azerbaijan became the first nation, other than Israel, to have access to the Israeli 'SkyStriker' suicide drone, a highly advanced drone that is capable of traveling up to 185km/h while locating a target and up to 555km/h when attacking a target..In exchange for all of this, Azerbaijan has been Israel's principal supplier of oil. As stated, Azerbaijan makes up 45 percent of Israel's oil imports. The next nation below Azerbaijan is Brazil, which makes up approximately 29 percent of Israel's oil imports..The strategic location of Azerbaijan and the fact that it is willing to export oil to Israel makes Azerbaijan vitally important for ensuring access to fuel in Israel. While most of Israel's neighbors are rich in oil reserves, many of the nations there are either directly hostile or comparatively indifferent to Israel, making reliable access to oil difficult for them. Azerbaijan's ability to export to Israel paired with its relative proximity to Israel–with Azerbaijan being only 1500km (940mi) from Israel–makes them an ideal partner in this manner..In 2022, Azerbaijan's oil exports to Israel were valued at $1.67 billion..Strong Diplomacy.On October 18th, 1991, Azerbaijan declared its independence amidst its war with Armenia, the First Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) War. In November, Turkey became the very first foreign nation to recognize Azeri independence. Several other nations soon followed suit, one of which was Israel, which recognized Azeri independence on December 25th, 1991..This gives Israel and Azerbaijan a deep relational history, with relations between the two nations being almost as old as the Azeri state itself..The closeness and depth of the relationship between Azerbaijan and Israel has been evidenced in a number of diplomatic factors..In 2010, Aliyev issued a decree banning the issuance of Azeri visas in the nation's airports. Instead, people seeking Azeri visas would have to travel to their nation's Azeri embassy or consulate. Turkey and Israel were the only two countries exempt from the law, with their citizens allowed to carry on as normal and obtain visas in Azeri airports..Israeli officials also make routine trips to Azerbaijan. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has visited the country on several occasions, including during his first ministry in 1997. Beyond this, Azeri and Israeli political leadership hold consistent meetings with each other..One such meeting took place recently in February, at the 60th Munich Security Conference in Germany, where Aliyev met with Israeli President Isaac Herzog. During the meeting, Aliyev reaffirmed Azerbaijan's support for Israel and the strength of their relations amidst the Israel-Gaza War. Azerbaijan has come under pressure to halt their oil exports to Israel in protest of the war, but has thus far refused to do so..Azerbaijan officially opened its embassy in Israel on March 29th, 2023. Notably, this embassy was established in Tel Aviv, and not Jerusalem..A significant portion of the diplomatic strength between the two nations comes from their mutual dislike of Iran. While Azerbaijan retains relations with Iran, they have historically been tense. Azerbaijan has accused Iran of attempting to carry out attacks against US and Israeli diplomatic elements in the country, while Iran accuses Azerbaijan of hosting Israeli military and intelligence elements..The Iran-Azerbaijan relationship is largely kept in check by the large amount of ethnic Azeri's that reside in Iran's northwestern regions. Iran is home to an estimated 12-20 million ethnic Azeri's, more than in Azerbaijan itself. The region has historically been the site of political violence and insurrection, meaning it is in Iran's best interests to keep the Azeri populations there relatively appeased..Iran's northwest was one of the flashpoints of the protests surrounding the death of Jina (commonly known as Mahsa) Amini, a woman who died in the custody of Iran's morality police after having been beaten and arrested for improperly wearing her hijab..Some of the protests organized in Azeri regions of Iran, as well as several protests since, were organized by an Azeri movement known as AZfront..AZfront is an Azeri movement based on Telegram, where it currently has over 800,000 followers. Since September 2023, it has additionally had an English-language YouTube channel with 243,000 subscribers. It publishes anti-Armenian, anti-Iranian, anti-French, pro-Azeri, and pro-Israel media, organizes pro-independence protests in Iran, and attempts to drum up support for the movement in foreign nations..Within the context of the Jina Amini protests, on April 28th, 2023, 32 Israeli Members of the Knesset (MK) together with the Baku Jewish Community, collectively wrote and sent a letter to the then-Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen, suggesting that Israel offer assistance to the movement, and use its international influence to raise the issue of what it calls "a policy of cultural genocide" and "the oppression of the Azeri minority in Iran at every appropriate international forum." Further, the MK's stated that Israeli support of the movement could deal "a fatal blow" to Iran.."Garnering wide international support as much as possible for the national aspirations in southern Azerbaijan will constitute a fatal blow to the Ayatollah regime, and there is no doubt that if the sovereign state of South Azerbaijan is established, Israel will merit another ally in the region alongside the Republic of Azerbaijan." -An excerpt from the letter.The letter further stated that, given Iranian support of Hezbollah and various Palestinian groups against Israel, it would be an appropriate response to support the Azeri separatists.."Supporting them would also constitute an appropriate political response to the sabotage efforts carried out by the Ayatollah regime against us, by financing and arming Hezbollah and hostile Palestinian organizations for approximately three decades." -An excerpt from the letter.It is unclear if the Israeli government did end up taking any action to support Azeri separatism in Iran, though Iran has accused Azerbaijan and Israel of doing so in the past..Israeli government officials have issued repeat messages of support for Azeri action in Artsakh..Diplomatic Beautification.Israel has been used by Azerbaijan to increase its standing on the world stage..Azerbaijan ranks very low in a number of freedom metrics. Reporters Without Borders ranks it at 167/180 in its press freedom index, and the political advocacy group Freedom House has declared it "not free" in its political rights and civil liberties, referring to the nation as a "consolidated authoritarian regime.".Further, Azerbaijan has been known to target anti-regime activists and journalists worldwide, and arrest dissidents within Azeri borders. Many of those who are arrested in this manner are tortured..Azerbaijan has been found to have committed numerous crimes against humanity and human rights abuses. And yet, the EU has described Azerbaijan as a "reliable partner," while both the EU and NATO maintain relations with Azerbaijan..Azerbaijan consistently works to better its image. While there are many ways it does this, one such way is putting its relationship with Israel front and center. Azerbaijan packages itself as a tolerant place with multiculturalism and uses its relationship with Israel, a Jewish nation, to evidence this. It shows itself to be a Muslim nation tolerant towards Jews and a friend to Israel, a rarity in the wider region..This is particularly effective in the West, specifically in the US, which is generally pro-Israel..Its relation to Israel gives Azerbaijan a good starting point with powerful Jewish lobbying groups in the EU and the US, including the American Jewish Committee, a lobbying group that, according to the New York Times, is considered the "dean of American Jewish organizations.".The other way Azerbaijan betters its image, is money..In 2017, the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) uncovered a massive Azeri 'slush fund' valued at approximately $2.9 billion. The fund, referred to by the OCCRP as the "Azerbaijan Laundromat," was used by Azerbaijan to make direct payments, purchase expensive gifts, and gift free trips to European and American politicians and lobbying groups to push pro-Azeri narratives in their respective countries. The Azeri network spanned across the US and several European nations..MP's who received money from Azerbaijan pushed pro-Azerbaijan narratives in their nations, in the European Parliament and several other European Union governmental organizations of which they were members, and voted in Azerbaijan's favor in numerous cases, including on European votes on matters related to Azerbaijan's repeat conflicts with Armenia..Several European and American politicians have been charged with bribery and corruption, while several more are under investigation..Military Access.One of the portions of the Israeli-Azeri relationship that is below the surface is the claims that Azerbaijan has granted Israel permission to use its air bases should they ever need to carry out significant strikes against Iran..Both Israel and Azerbaijan have denied this, however what is particularly notable about these claims is that they do not come solely from Iran..A 2012 report released by Foreign Policy quotes an unnamed senior US official in the Obama administration as saying, "the Israelis have bought an airfield, and the airfield is called Azerbaijan." In the same report, Foreign Policy said that this opinion was espoused by several other administration and US military officials..The potential use of Azeri airfields would be extremely useful for Israel. Some of their bombers, which have a limited range, would be able to land in Azerbaijan, which neighbors Iran, rather than refueling mid-flight or having to make the distanced journey back to Israel after an attack on Iran. Having an air base in closer proximity to Iran would additionally allow Israeli bombers to carry more firepower..Azerbaijan, being a former Soviet state, has several Soviet air bases within the nation that are no longer in use and would provide adequate locations for Israeli fighters and bombers to land after a strike. The airfields, if such an agreement actually exists, would likely only be used if Israel were to attack facilities related to Iran's nuclear program, which they have espoused several calls to halt in the past. The idea was first raised in 2006 by retired Israeli Brigadier General Oded Tira, who stated that "for our part, we should also coordinate with Azerbaijan the use of air bases in its territory and also enlist the support of the Azeri minority in Iran." Tira had been issuing a condemnation towards the administration of former President George W. Bush over his perceived inaction towards halting Iran's nuclear program..Iran, while also accusing Azerbaijan of granting Israel access to their airfields, has further accused Azerbaijan of hosting Israeli military elements and personnel. Azerbaijan once again denied this, with Azeri Foreign Ministry spokesperson Leyla Abdullayeva stating that "we reject the allegations of any third party's presence near the Azerbaijani-Iranian border, such allegations are totally baseless.".Separately, the Times of London claimed that Azerbaijan is host to a base of Israel's Mossad intelligence agency..Additionally, several sources have claimed that Israeli Mossad agents who infiltrated Iran's nuclear program and stole a significant amount of related documents in 2018, escaped through Azerbaijan before returning to Israel..An Unlikely Friendship.While the true depths of the Israeli-Azeri relationship is unknown, what has surfaced is particularly significant..Aliyev's words amidst Israel's ongoing conflict with Hamas and other militant groups in Gaza show that Azeri support for Israel, and the two nation's general relationship, is here to stay..The question remains on if this relationship will continue to strain relations with Iran as it has in the past, and the effect it may have on the Azeri relationship with Turkey, who has stepped up their anti-Israel rhetoric over the course of the conflict and severed trade with Israel, an action Azerbaijan has not taken.