Growing Israeli-Azerbaijani Ties Worry Iran

Azerbaijan's potential expansion of intelligence and military cooperation with Israel has led to increased tensions with Iran, with a high-ranking Iranian official issuing an unusually aggressive statement directed at Baku on Aug. 9. Though Iran and Azerbaijan have long had a fraught relationship, the prospect of a close partnership between Tehran's northern neighbor and Israel could encourage Iran to use its covert assets to sow internal discord in Azerbaijan. Russia will also be monitoring changes in the Israeli-Azerbaijani relationship closely in order to protect Moscow's influence in the Caucasus and use the budding ties as leverage in its own relationship with Iran.