Last Thursday, four Azerbaijani civilians were wounded when Iran launched at least four drones at the Nakhchivan Autonomous Enclave, targeting an airport, an Azerbaijani school, and other civilian targets. A day after that, a plot was uncovered where the IRGC planned to target a Mountain Jewish communal leader, the Israeli Embassy in Baku, the Ashkenazi synagogue and a number of bridges in Baku in order to create chaos.
The Iranians also planned to target the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline, which Azerbaijani journalist Anastasia Lavrina described as “one of the most important strategic energy corridors in the wider Caspian region. The pipeline transports Azerbaijani crude oil to global markets through Turkey’s Mediterranean port of Ceyhan, forming a key component of Europe’s energy diversification architecture.
“An attack on this route would not simply have damaged infrastructure. These developments reinforced the perception that the crisis extended beyond a single drone strike and reflected a broader pattern combining military pressure with covert destabilization attempts.”
As an Israeli American, I want to condemn the barbaric attack on Azerbaijan. What Iran did was a war crime and a blatant violation of international law. Tehran’s wanton aggression against Azerbaijan, Turkey, Cyprus, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Kuwait, and a variety of other countries in the region should not go unanswered. At this critical juncture, I want the people of Azerbaijan to know that the Israeli people stand in solidarity with them.
In the wake of recent developments and especially after the attack upon the Azerbaijani Embassy in Tehran a couple of years ago, which resulted in the blatant murder of an Azerbaijani security guard, I hope that Azerbaijan utilizes this historic juncture in order to liberate the people of South Azerbaijan from the yoke of Persian tyranny. The people there have been suffering immensely ever since this regime came to power.
The Iranian regime has deprived the people of South Azerbaijan of the right to work and study in their mother tongue; has arrested linguistic and cultural rights activists en masse, tortured them, and given them lengthy prison sentences; and has committed environmental degradation in Lake Urmia, which has caused immense suffering in South Azerbaijan.
The time has come for the region to be free. The time has come for the liberation of South Azerbaijan from the yoke of Persian tyranny, and I am not the only Israeli who feels this way.
Solidarity with Azerbaijan
Sadaat Shukurova, who is chairperson of the Dona Gracia Center for Diplomacy and vice president of Aziz, the main Azerbaijani cultural organization in Israel, has two sons serving in the IDF and a daughter who is working as a paramedic for Magen David Adom. She declared that as an Israeli, she stands in solidarity with Azerbaijan at this critical juncture in history:
“I am closely following the recent developments in the region. Reports about drones falling in the direction of the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic raise serious concern. Any threat to Azerbaijan’s security is unacceptable and poses a danger to stability in the region.”
However, Shukurova noted that there is cause for cautious optimism: “The timely prevention by Azerbaijan’s security services of reported threats targeting Jewish religious and cultural sites once again demonstrates that security and multicultural values are being protected in the country. Azerbaijan’s long-standing tradition of tolerance and interfaith harmony serve as an important example for the region.”
Shukurova noted that the Israeli people are not just supporting North Azerbaijan, but also a free and independent South Azerbaijan, which desperately needs to be liberated from the yoke of Persian tyranny. “In Israel, we closely follow the situation of South Azerbaijanis in Iran, whose cultural and linguistic rights have long faced restrictions,” she said. “Millions of Azerbaijanis living in South Azerbaijan deserve the full protection of their fundamental human rights, including the right to preserve their language, culture, and identity.”
The Aziz leader concluded: “We stand in solidarity with the Azerbaijani people in South Azerbaijan and support their legitimate aspirations to freely express their identity and heritage. Respect for the rights and dignity of Azerbaijani communities is essential for justice, stability, and lasting peace in the region.”
Noam Ezer, an IDF reservist, proclaimed: “In this war, we can see two nations standing side by side against a shared existential enemy: the State of Israel and Azerbaijan. The recent Iranian attacks on Azerbaijani territory are extremely severe and demonstrate the murderous cruelty of the Islamic Republic, which attacks countries that share the same religion as its own. This exposes the hypocrisy of the ayatollahs.
“As an Israeli, I stand with the people of Azerbaijan and wish them, just as I wish for myself, my friends and my family, health, security and prosperity, which with God’s help will never be harmed by the Iranian monsters.”
Dr. Dana Barnett, head of the Israel Academia Monitor organization, stated: “I visited Azerbaijan in the past. I found the country very friendly and beautiful. I am really sad to hear that they are suffering from the Iranian aggression as well. As an Israeli, I am hoping that there will be no more damage to Azerbaijan in general and I am hoping that the Jewish community and Israelis that are in Azerbaijan at the moment will not be targeted. As a friend of Azerbaijan, I am hoping to visit again sometime soon and enjoy the lovely country. May we have peace soon.”
Prominent Middle East scholar Dr. Mordechai Kedar, who served for 25 years in the Israel Defense Forces Military Intelligence, concluded: “Azerbaijan and Israel are in the same ditch, fighting the same enemy – and both possess the same ideology, which is life, prosperity and peace. Our mutual enemy believes in death, war, and backwardness.
“We are the winners and forever will be,” he said. “We strongly support the plight of our dear brothers and friends in South Azerbaijan and wish them good luck in their struggle for freedom and independence.”
The writer is the CEO of the Dona Gracia Center for Diplomacy and an Israel-based journalist. She is the author of Women and Jihad: Debating Palestinian Female Suicide Bombings in the American, Israeli and Arab Media.