Israel’s Massive Strike on Iran Exposes Proxy Role of Azerbaijan, Threatening Armenia’s Security

In an exclusive interview with The Armenian Report, political analyst Arman Abovyan warned that Azerbaijan is deeply entangled in the latest attacks on Iran — acting not as a neutral observer, but as an active player aligned with Israel.

“I am more than convinced that Azerbaijan is, in one way or another, involved in this process,” Abovyan said, emphasizing the growing risk that regional power struggles may spill over into the South Caucasus. He explained that while Iran is avoiding direct confrontation with Azerbaijan — likely to prevent a multi-front war — the situation remains dangerously unstable.

Abovyan pointed to the recent high alert status of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces and the visible deployment of military aircraft. He believes this is no coincidence.

“Let’s be clear: Azerbaijan serves as Israel’s proxy in the region,” he stated. “Azerbaijan is a terrorist state, and from a political standpoint, Israel is seen as a hostile actor by the Republic of Armenia.”

As Israel deepens its military and intelligence cooperation with Azerbaijan — including weapons sales and drone technology — Iran has positioned itself as one of the few regional players offering strategic support to Armenia.

In a statement, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei openly claimed that Iran was responsible for halting the controversial “Zangezur Corridor” — a project pushed by Turkey and Azerbaijan that threatened to split southern Armenia and compromise the country’s territorial integrity.

“This shows that Iran sees Armenia as an important regional partner,” Abovyan said. “They are willing to take risks to stop projects that threaten our sovereignty.”

He also warned about the militarization of air infrastructure in the South Caucasus. “The Turkish-Azerbaijani tandem, with Israel’s help, has built three airfields that are not really for civilian use,” he explained. “These are military air bases. Their purpose is to host and support operations by fighter pilots, not commercial planes.”

Abovyan believes these facilities are not just defensive measures, but offensive platforms that could be used against both Iran and Armenia. “Azerbaijan has every reason to want Iran weakened,” he said. “They’re not hiding it anymore.”

He further argued that Armenia’s current government is not doing enough to counter these threats. Instead, he accuses the leadership in Yerevan of following a “pro-Turkish, pro-Azerbaijani, collaborationist policy,” which he says amounts to surrender.

“The threat to Armenia’s Syunik province has existed since 2020,” Abovyan warned. “It became worse after so-called ‘goodwill gestures’ by the Armenian government allowed Turkish and Azerbaijani forces to take control of key roads connecting Goris and Kapan — the lifelines of southern Armenia.”

Abovyan’s warnings point to a larger truth: the South Caucasus is getting pulled further into regional turmoil. For Armenia, it could be time to take a hard look at where it stands as the situation keeps evolving.

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