Gallant’s visit to Azerbaijan underlines Iranian threat to regional security

Despite media reports, Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant’s two-day visit to Azerbaijan's capital Baku was not directly related to the attempted attack on the Israeli embassy, undertaken by an Afghan national who was trained and sent by Iran. The visit was pre-planned, and considering the number of the agreements signed over these two days, it took some time to prepare it.

There is no publicly available information on which security deals were signed. But there are hints, pointing to the fact that most of them are connected to the issue of Azerbaijan’s and Israel’s arch-nemesis Iran, which has proclaimed Azerbaijan “a Zionist base” in the Caucasus.

For example, the Azerbaijani military published footage of a training exercise targeting small flying targets meant to simulate the infamous Iranian loitering munition, the Shahed-136, thousands of which were sold to Russia and are being used to bombard Ukraine. This is the first documented drill of its kind by Azerbaijani forces, and it could not come at a more opportune moment.

During several of the recent clashes on the Azeri-Armenian border, the Armenian side used the Shaheds against Azerbaijani positions. It is not outlandish to presume that Israel, being on the forefront of anti-missile and anti-drone technology production, has something up its sleeve to assist its major strategic partner.

Additionally, this constitutes a great proving ground, which in the near future will assist the Israeli defense industry in developing more efficient ways to counter the threat of such UAVs. Moreover, according to the Israeli research center ALMA, Iranian proxies such as Hezbollah will use these drones in a potential military escalation with Israel.

"The public is not aware enough of the dangers posed by drones. It is a new type of global threat, and I hope that Israel is aware of the information about the Iranian companies", ALMA’s research head, Tal Beeri, was quoted recently as saying. 

Another security issue that came up recently is related to the use of radio jamming devices against the GPS satellite navigation systems on Azerbaijani passenger planes. It was reported by the local Ministry of Defense that such devices were used by Armenian separatists in the Karabakh enclave, which is controlled by the Russian military.

Israel already faced the same threat several years ago, when the Russians used such devices in Syria, disrupting the GPS signals of planes landing at Tel Aviv airport. This problem was dealt with in Israel, so it might provide the solution to its ally.

It must be noted that Iranian state media reacted harshly to Gallant’s visit.

“Azerbaijan prefers to maintain its alliance with Israel and Turkey.... The Zionists have intensified their attacks on Iran in the past six months, and Gallant's meeting with the head of the Azerbaijani border service cannot but cause anxiety among Iranian authorities. To counter the unfriendly policy of Baku, Tehran has to supply Yerevan with defensive weapons to restore the balance of power in the South Caucasus”, stated the pro-regime analytical outlet, Rahborde Moaser.

“Once again, when Azerbaijan and Iran begin to warm up to each other and tensions subside, Israel finds a way to provoke an escalation. No wonder Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant arrived in Baku immediately after the Iranian Foreign Minister's visit to Azerbaijan. Israel continues to try to turn Azerbaijan into the same threat to Iran that Lebanon has become to Israel. The weapons that Israel supplies to Azerbaijan are not intended for war with Armenia. These weapons are being stockpiled for use against Iran,” stated the “reformist” Iranian outlet Shargh Daily.

All in all, it is in Baku’s and Jerusalem’s best interests to support each other against the looming Iranian threat. Only with the proper diplomatic relations and mutual exchange of experience and expertise will the menace of Iranian drones be countered.