Tweet
AZERBAIJAN SAYS ISRAELI ARMS TO BE USED AGAINST KARABAKH
ASBAREZ
Tuesday, February 28th, 2012
An Israeli Hermes-450 drone
TEHRAN, BAKU, TEL AVIV (Combined Sources)-Azerbaijan's Ambassador to
Iran said a $1.6 billion arms deal with Israel, which was announced
Sunday, was made "to liberate occupied Azerbaijani land," Iranian
news agencies reported Tuesday.
The Azeri ambassador, Javanshir Akhundov, acknowledged the arms
purchase after getting confirmation from his government when Iran
challenged Azerbaijan on the reported arms deal, reported Agence
France Presse. Akhundov acknowledged that the weapons would be used
on the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, which Baku contends is "occupying"
Azeri territory.
Akhundov was called in to the foreign ministry to explain the weapons
and to receive a warning that Israel must not be permitted to use
Azerbaijan to stage "terrorist acts" against Iran.
The Iranian agencies quoted Akhundov saying that Baku "will not
allow the weapons to be used against third nations, in particular
the Islamic Republic of Iran."
Israel Inks $1.6 Billion Arms Deal With Azerbaijan Israeli defense
officials on Sunday confirmed $1.6 billion in deals to sell drones
as well as anti-aircraft and missile defense systems to Azerbaijan,
bringing sophisticated Israeli technology to the doorstep of archenemy
Iran, reported the Associated Press.
Tel Aviv said the deal between the Azeri government and the Israeli
state-run Israel Aerospace Industries is not linked to Iran's nuclear
development program or Iran's alleged involvement in plots to Israeli
diplomats in Azerbaijan, India and Georgia.
Reporting on the story for Eurasianet.org Joshua Kucera wrote that
"regardless of the ongoing ratcheting up of tension between Israel and
Iran, and increasing attention to Israel's intelligence activities in
Azerbaijan, these weapons are destined to be used not against Iran,"
but against Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia.
In September Karabakh armed forces downed an Israeli-made Azeri drone
In September, the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Armed forces shot down
an Israeli-made unmanned drone flying over Karabakh airspace, near
the village of Vazgenashen in the Martuni region.
Israel and Azerbaijan have been developing their military alliance
in recent years, culminating in a decision in September to develop
drones and other military hardware in Azerbaijan using Israeli
defense technology.
"Israel is a valuable arms partner for Azerbaijan not because of
anything related to Iran. Rather, Azerbaijan has a lot of money, and
Israel has top-quality defense manufacturers. And Baku is restricted
in what it can buy from the U.S. because of opposition by pro-Armenia
members of Congress, plus the U.S.'s general desire not to inflame
the situation in Karabakh. And it's limited in what it can buy from
Russia because of Russia's alliance with Armenia (occasional missile
defense sales notwithstanding). Israel has no such concerns," said
Kucera in his report for Eurasianet.org.
The AP reported Tuesday that Israeli officials have said they will
not warn the US if they decide to launch a pre-emptive strike against
Iranian nuclear facilities. The pronouncement, delivered in a series
of private, top-level conversations with US officials, sets a tense
tone ahead of meetings in the coming days at the White House and
in Congress.
Israeli officials said that if they eventually decide a strike is
necessary, they would keep the Americans in the dark to decrease the
likelihood that the US would be held responsible for failing to stop
Israel's potential attack, said one US intelligence official familiar
with the discussions. The US has been working with the Israelis for
months to convince them that an attack would be only a temporary
setback to Iran's nuclear program.
Israeli defense officials confirmed that there are no plans to
alert the US ahead of time about any operation against Iran, though
they stressed no decisions have been made on whether to attack. The
officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were discussing
a confidential security matter.
ASBAREZ
Tuesday, February 28th, 2012
An Israeli Hermes-450 drone
TEHRAN, BAKU, TEL AVIV (Combined Sources)-Azerbaijan's Ambassador to
Iran said a $1.6 billion arms deal with Israel, which was announced
Sunday, was made "to liberate occupied Azerbaijani land," Iranian
news agencies reported Tuesday.
The Azeri ambassador, Javanshir Akhundov, acknowledged the arms
purchase after getting confirmation from his government when Iran
challenged Azerbaijan on the reported arms deal, reported Agence
France Presse. Akhundov acknowledged that the weapons would be used
on the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, which Baku contends is "occupying"
Azeri territory.
Akhundov was called in to the foreign ministry to explain the weapons
and to receive a warning that Israel must not be permitted to use
Azerbaijan to stage "terrorist acts" against Iran.
The Iranian agencies quoted Akhundov saying that Baku "will not
allow the weapons to be used against third nations, in particular
the Islamic Republic of Iran."
Israel Inks $1.6 Billion Arms Deal With Azerbaijan Israeli defense
officials on Sunday confirmed $1.6 billion in deals to sell drones
as well as anti-aircraft and missile defense systems to Azerbaijan,
bringing sophisticated Israeli technology to the doorstep of archenemy
Iran, reported the Associated Press.
Tel Aviv said the deal between the Azeri government and the Israeli
state-run Israel Aerospace Industries is not linked to Iran's nuclear
development program or Iran's alleged involvement in plots to Israeli
diplomats in Azerbaijan, India and Georgia.
Reporting on the story for Eurasianet.org Joshua Kucera wrote that
"regardless of the ongoing ratcheting up of tension between Israel and
Iran, and increasing attention to Israel's intelligence activities in
Azerbaijan, these weapons are destined to be used not against Iran,"
but against Nagorno-Karabakh and Armenia.
In September Karabakh armed forces downed an Israeli-made Azeri drone
In September, the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Armed forces shot down
an Israeli-made unmanned drone flying over Karabakh airspace, near
the village of Vazgenashen in the Martuni region.
Israel and Azerbaijan have been developing their military alliance
in recent years, culminating in a decision in September to develop
drones and other military hardware in Azerbaijan using Israeli
defense technology.
"Israel is a valuable arms partner for Azerbaijan not because of
anything related to Iran. Rather, Azerbaijan has a lot of money, and
Israel has top-quality defense manufacturers. And Baku is restricted
in what it can buy from the U.S. because of opposition by pro-Armenia
members of Congress, plus the U.S.'s general desire not to inflame
the situation in Karabakh. And it's limited in what it can buy from
Russia because of Russia's alliance with Armenia (occasional missile
defense sales notwithstanding). Israel has no such concerns," said
Kucera in his report for Eurasianet.org.
The AP reported Tuesday that Israeli officials have said they will
not warn the US if they decide to launch a pre-emptive strike against
Iranian nuclear facilities. The pronouncement, delivered in a series
of private, top-level conversations with US officials, sets a tense
tone ahead of meetings in the coming days at the White House and
in Congress.
Israeli officials said that if they eventually decide a strike is
necessary, they would keep the Americans in the dark to decrease the
likelihood that the US would be held responsible for failing to stop
Israel's potential attack, said one US intelligence official familiar
with the discussions. The US has been working with the Israelis for
months to convince them that an attack would be only a temporary
setback to Iran's nuclear program.
Israeli defense officials confirmed that there are no plans to
alert the US ahead of time about any operation against Iran, though
they stressed no decisions have been made on whether to attack. The
officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were discussing
a confidential security matter.