A growing number of Iranian analysts, experts, and military specialists are raising serious concerns that Israel is conducting airstrikes on Iran using Azerbaijani airspace. These concerns have been voiced across social media platforms and in interviews with Iranian and international media.
Among those sounding the alarm is Dr. Ehsan Movahedian, a Ph.D. in International Relations and a Caucasus region expert based at Tehran’s Allameh Tabataba’i University (ATU), where he lectures on political science. According to Armenpress, Movahedian has presented several arguments suggesting Israeli military aircraft have used Azerbaijani territory to carry out attacks on Iranian soil.
Referring to reports that some Israeli drones involved in recent strikes may have originated from Nakhichevan, Movahedian stated that these UAVs crossed into Iran via Azerbaijani airspace—a claim he says is corroborated by eyewitness accounts. He added that Iran’s air defense systems near Bandar Anzali, on the Caspian Sea, recently intercepted multiple small drones, while residents in Parsabad and the Moghan region reported seeing drones cross the Azerbaijani border into Iran.
Movahedian also pointed to an Israeli F-35 fighter jet allegedly targeting Iran’s state broadcaster, noting it had reportedly attempted to enter Iranian airspace via Julfa—implying the use of either Turkish or Azerbaijani airspace for the mission.
The expert has published multiple posts on X (formerly Twitter) seeking to substantiate his claims, alleging that Israel is using both Nakhichevan and mainland Azerbaijan as strategic launchpads for strikes across different regions of Iran. In one post, he shared an image of what he claimed was a discarded Israeli fighter jet fuel tank found along the Caspian Sea coast, near Ramsar in northern Iran.
“A photo of an Israeli fighter jet’s fuel tank in the waters of the Caspian Sea—on the northern coast of the country, near Ramsar. You might ask: isn’t Israel west of Iran? Then what is this doing in the north? That’s a question Baku must answer, because it serves as the second branch of the ‘Zionist regime’ in the region. Once the Israeli regime is dealt with, the evil of Baku must also be addressed,” Movahedian wrote.
In response to the growing accusations, Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov held a phone call with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on June 14, assuring him that Azerbaijan would not allow its territory to be used for attacks against Iran.
