The Azerbaijani Security Service thwarted an Iranian plot to attack the Israeli embassy in Baku and other Jewish targets in the country on Friday, media in Azerbaijan reported.
The plot was reportedly conducted by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) with the aim of creating panic and reputational damage to the country.
According to Azerbaijani media, the Iranian plot sought to attack the Baku-Ceyhan Oil Pipeline, the Israeli Embassy, a leader of the Mountain Jewish community, and a local synagogue.
Security personnel reportedly located and neutralized three explosive devices associated with the plot.
Incident follows an Iranian drone strike on Azerbaijan
Earlier on Friday, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev condemned an Iranian drone strike on the country’s exclave of Nakhchivan, calling it a “terrorist act” and warning that Azerbaijan would respond.
On Thursday, at around 11 a.m. local time, two drones coming from the direction of Iran struck the Azerbaijani exclave. One hit the terminal of Nakhchivan International Airport. The second crashed near a school in the village of Shakarabad. Two civilians were wounded, and children were evacuated from nearby schools.
Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry said Iran “bears full responsibility for the incident” and that the army is preparing measures “to defend the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Azerbaijan.” The statement said the actions “will not go unanswered.”
A Baku-based security analyst said Iranian officials have continued to promote a narrative that Israel used Azerbaijani territory for attacks, a claim Azerbaijan has denied. “They are looking for justification and recycling a claim that has no basis,” the analyst said, arguing that pressure inside Iran is now translating into additional targets in the region.
Azerbaijan’s military is not the region’s largest, but it gained combat experience in the Karabakh wars and is equipped with advanced weaponry, including systems from Israel and Turkey.