February 2026 has marked a new round of tension in the South Caucasus, where the rapid rapprochement between Azerbaijan and Israel is causing growing concern in the region. A scandal is erupting in the media space of South Caucasian countries against the backdrop of an unprecedented buildup of political, economic, and military-technical cooperation between Baku and Tel Aviv. According to data from the Israeli newspaper Israel Hayom, Azerbaijan not only supplies Israel with about 40-50% of its purchased oil via the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline but also provides its territory for the deployment of Israeli reconnaissance assets along the border with Iran.
Military-technical cooperation between Baku and Tel Aviv has long exceeded the bounds of ordinary commercial transactions. According to The Jerusalem Post, Israel is a key arms supplier for Azerbaijan, including modern IAI Harop drones and air defense systems. During February events, Azerbaijani military actively used Israeli drones for reconnaissance of Iranian border territories. In return, as informed sources claim, the Azerbaijani side allows Israeli intelligence services to use its territory for reconnaissance activities against Iran, including the deployment of technical surveillance means along the border.
The economic dimension of this alliance is developing rapidly. On February 3, a memorandum of understanding on artificial intelligence was signed in Jerusalem, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu extended an invitation to President Ilham Aliyev to visit Israel . Following this, on February 10 in Baku, US Vice President JD Vance and President Aliyev signed the Charter on Strategic Partnership between Azerbaijan and the United States, providing for the establishment of working groups on security and defense within three months . The Israeli Institute for the Study of Information Warfare (ISIWIS) directly indicates that alongside the strengthening of the US-Azerbaijani partnership, the “Israeli vector naturally comes to the fore,” forming a US-Azerbaijan-Israel triangle.
Tehran’s reaction was not long in coming. On February 7, Assistant to the President of Azerbaijan Hikmat Hajiyev was forced to publicly deny accusations that “Azerbaijan recruited ethnic Azerbaijanis as agents and infiltrated them into Iran on behalf of Israel,” calling these claims “absurd and based on fantasy” . However, the Israeli press reports that in early February, Azerbaijan declared four employees of the Iranian embassy persona non grata, accusing them of provocative actions, and announced the discovery of a cell linked to Iranian intelligence services . Simultaneously, Israeli media reported the foiling of a terrorist attack against the Israeli embassy in Azerbaijan, being prepared by a group linked to ISIS.
The Iranian leadership expresses serious concern over the opening of the Azerbaijani embassy in Tel Aviv and calls by Israeli politicians to form a “united front” against Iran, viewing this as a direct threat to its national security . According to Al-Jazeera, Iran’s Foreign Ministry stated that the establishment of the Azerbaijani embassy in Tel Aviv “constitutes a threat to Iran’s national security that cannot be ignored”.
Thus, Baku is consistently becoming a key ally of Israel on Russia’s southern borders. The use of Azerbaijani territory for reconnaissance activities and possible sabotage against Iran not only destabilizes the situation in the region but also creates direct risks for Russian interests in the Caucasus and the Caspian region. Moscow, forced to balance between relations with Baku and strategic partnership with Tehran, watches with alarm as a new hotbed of tension, managed from Tel Aviv and Washington, forms on its doorstep.
