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Fars News Agency , Iran
April 28 2012
Azerbaijan's Growing Ties with Israel Worrying Many in Middle-East
TEHRAN (FNA)- The burgeoning relationship between Israel and
Azerbaijan is raising eyebrows throughout the Middle East, not least
of all because Azerbaijan is Iran's neighbor to the north and shares
close cultural and demographic ties with Iran.
Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman's visit to Azerbaijan
underscores growing ties, including a $1.6 billion Israeli deal to
supply Iran's neighbor with a wide range of military equipment.
Trade between Israel and Azerbaijan now totals $4 billion annually,
the highest figure for Israel's business with any of the
now-independent countries that were part of the former Soviet Union,
and there's a frequent exchange of officials - most recently Israeli
Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who visited Azerbaijan's capital,
Baku, this week.
"Our relationship is very intense," Mr. Lieberman said, according to
Christian Science Monitor.
Azerbaijan's position between Iran and Russia has long made it a
diplomatic "den of spies," where Israel and the US are seeking hard to
gather intelligence on Iran and Russia.
But it's the nature of Israel's trade with Azerbaijan that's drawn the
most interest. In February, Azerbaijan agreed to pay state-run Israel
Aerospace Industries $1.6 billion for a wide range of military
products, including drones and anti-aircraft and anti-missile defense
systems. That's nearly a quarter of the money Azerbaijan's government
takes in each year, $7.8 billion. Azerbaijan also provides about 30
percent of Israel's energy needs.
"Baku has an important role in Israel's regional aspirations," said an
Israeli diplomat who has worked on several trade deals that involved
Azerbaijan. He couldn't be named because he wasn't authorized to
discuss the subject with a reporter.
Speculation on how far the relationship goes is rampant. Israel, after
all, has been threatening to take military action against Iran's
nuclear program. A recent report in Foreign Policy magazine alleged
that, in addition to the commercial ties, Israel has acquired access
to airfields in Azerbaijan's north that might be used in any attack on
Iran.
Azeri and Israeli officials have denied the story. In recent news
report on Israeli preparations for a possible strike on Iran broadcast
by Israel's Channel 2, unnamed Israeli officials said there were
"better, more practical options" than airfields in Azerbaijan. The
program didn't elaborate on what those might be, however.
That hasn't made Iranians any happier about the Azeri-Israeli
alliance. Azerbaijan's growing ties with Israel have jeopardized its
relations with Iran, and earlier this year Iranian officials summoned
Azerbaijan's ambassador to Tehran to the Foreign Ministry over reports
that the Azeri government was allowing Israeli Mossad agents to gather
intelligence along the Azerbaijan-Iran border.
In Azerbaijan, military analysts have speculated that access to Azeri
airfields could be intended for drone missions over Iran, rather than
a strike.
"There have been Western powers looking at the airfields in Azerbaijan
for a long time and wanting to use them. Israel may have found a way,"
said Arastun Orujlu, a former Azeri counterintelligence officer who's
the director of the East-West Research Center in Baku. He said it was
well-known that Israel produced some parts for its drones in
Azerbaijan and kept a large fleet outside Baku.
Azerbaijan has had Israeli drones since at least 2008, when they were
first seen in a public parade. In September 2011, an Azeri drone of
Israeli origin was shot down over Nagorno-Karabakh, a territory that's
the subject of a dispute between Azerbaijan and Armenia. That same
month, the Azeri government announced that Israel's Aeronautics
Defense Systems had licensed it to build drones based on the Israeli
model.
Under a deal struck this February, Azerbaijan is expected to acquire
60 Israeli-designed unmanned aerial vehicles.
Speaking to the Azeri news station News.Az, Azerbaijani political
expert Rovshan Ibrahimov said Lieberman's visit to Baku this week was
the most recent in a long line of moves by Israel to threaten Iran
through Azerbaijan.
"The arrival of Lieberman is part of the situation escalated around
Iran by Israel. Here are some aspects of the fact that Israel is
trying to show Tehran that it can at any time strike Iran, and for
this makes certain steps to ensure the support of its allies in this
plan," he said.
Lieberman denied that his trip was meant to intimidate. He said his
meetings with top officials in Baku, including President Ilham Aliyev,
focused on bilateral relations, although his office released a
statement that said Iran also had been on the agenda.
April 28 2012
Azerbaijan's Growing Ties with Israel Worrying Many in Middle-East
TEHRAN (FNA)- The burgeoning relationship between Israel and
Azerbaijan is raising eyebrows throughout the Middle East, not least
of all because Azerbaijan is Iran's neighbor to the north and shares
close cultural and demographic ties with Iran.
Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman's visit to Azerbaijan
underscores growing ties, including a $1.6 billion Israeli deal to
supply Iran's neighbor with a wide range of military equipment.
Trade between Israel and Azerbaijan now totals $4 billion annually,
the highest figure for Israel's business with any of the
now-independent countries that were part of the former Soviet Union,
and there's a frequent exchange of officials - most recently Israeli
Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who visited Azerbaijan's capital,
Baku, this week.
"Our relationship is very intense," Mr. Lieberman said, according to
Christian Science Monitor.
Azerbaijan's position between Iran and Russia has long made it a
diplomatic "den of spies," where Israel and the US are seeking hard to
gather intelligence on Iran and Russia.
But it's the nature of Israel's trade with Azerbaijan that's drawn the
most interest. In February, Azerbaijan agreed to pay state-run Israel
Aerospace Industries $1.6 billion for a wide range of military
products, including drones and anti-aircraft and anti-missile defense
systems. That's nearly a quarter of the money Azerbaijan's government
takes in each year, $7.8 billion. Azerbaijan also provides about 30
percent of Israel's energy needs.
"Baku has an important role in Israel's regional aspirations," said an
Israeli diplomat who has worked on several trade deals that involved
Azerbaijan. He couldn't be named because he wasn't authorized to
discuss the subject with a reporter.
Speculation on how far the relationship goes is rampant. Israel, after
all, has been threatening to take military action against Iran's
nuclear program. A recent report in Foreign Policy magazine alleged
that, in addition to the commercial ties, Israel has acquired access
to airfields in Azerbaijan's north that might be used in any attack on
Iran.
Azeri and Israeli officials have denied the story. In recent news
report on Israeli preparations for a possible strike on Iran broadcast
by Israel's Channel 2, unnamed Israeli officials said there were
"better, more practical options" than airfields in Azerbaijan. The
program didn't elaborate on what those might be, however.
That hasn't made Iranians any happier about the Azeri-Israeli
alliance. Azerbaijan's growing ties with Israel have jeopardized its
relations with Iran, and earlier this year Iranian officials summoned
Azerbaijan's ambassador to Tehran to the Foreign Ministry over reports
that the Azeri government was allowing Israeli Mossad agents to gather
intelligence along the Azerbaijan-Iran border.
In Azerbaijan, military analysts have speculated that access to Azeri
airfields could be intended for drone missions over Iran, rather than
a strike.
"There have been Western powers looking at the airfields in Azerbaijan
for a long time and wanting to use them. Israel may have found a way,"
said Arastun Orujlu, a former Azeri counterintelligence officer who's
the director of the East-West Research Center in Baku. He said it was
well-known that Israel produced some parts for its drones in
Azerbaijan and kept a large fleet outside Baku.
Azerbaijan has had Israeli drones since at least 2008, when they were
first seen in a public parade. In September 2011, an Azeri drone of
Israeli origin was shot down over Nagorno-Karabakh, a territory that's
the subject of a dispute between Azerbaijan and Armenia. That same
month, the Azeri government announced that Israel's Aeronautics
Defense Systems had licensed it to build drones based on the Israeli
model.
Under a deal struck this February, Azerbaijan is expected to acquire
60 Israeli-designed unmanned aerial vehicles.
Speaking to the Azeri news station News.Az, Azerbaijani political
expert Rovshan Ibrahimov said Lieberman's visit to Baku this week was
the most recent in a long line of moves by Israel to threaten Iran
through Azerbaijan.
"The arrival of Lieberman is part of the situation escalated around
Iran by Israel. Here are some aspects of the fact that Israel is
trying to show Tehran that it can at any time strike Iran, and for
this makes certain steps to ensure the support of its allies in this
plan," he said.
Lieberman denied that his trip was meant to intimidate. He said his
meetings with top officials in Baku, including President Ilham Aliyev,
focused on bilateral relations, although his office released a
statement that said Iran also had been on the agenda.