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ISRAEL'S NEW TIES TO AZERBAIJAN WORRY NEIGHBORING IRAN
By Sheera Frenkel
McClatchy Newspapers
Posted on Thursday, 04.26.12
JERUSALEM -- 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.
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," Lieberman said.
Azerbaijan's position between Iran and Russia has long made it a
diplomatic "den of spies," where various, often hostile, countries -
including the United States, Iran, Russia and Israel - could gather
intelligence on one another.
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's 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 a 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. Relations between Azerbaijan and Iran have worsened steadily,
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. Last September, 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.
Read more
here:http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/04/25/2767412_israels-new-ties-to-azerbaijan
.html#storylink=addthis#storylink=cpy
From: Baghdasarian
By Sheera Frenkel
McClatchy Newspapers
Posted on Thursday, 04.26.12
JERUSALEM -- 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.
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," Lieberman said.
Azerbaijan's position between Iran and Russia has long made it a
diplomatic "den of spies," where various, often hostile, countries -
including the United States, Iran, Russia and Israel - could gather
intelligence on one another.
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's 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 a 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. Relations between Azerbaijan and Iran have worsened steadily,
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. Last September, 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.
Read more
here:http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/04/25/2767412_israels-new-ties-to-azerbaijan
.html#storylink=addthis#storylink=cpy
From: Baghdasarian