Baku said it foiled Iranian-linked terror plots on four key sites, including a major pipeline and Jewish community targets, as tensions with Tehran sharply escalate.
Azerbaijan’s State Security Service (SSS) announced on Friday that it had stopped Iranian intelligence agents from committing terror attacks against four targets in the country.
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The targets include the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, the Israeli Embassy in Azerbaijan, a leader of the country's Mizrahi Jewish religious community, and the Ashkenazi synagogue, Azerbaijan’s media reported.
“The series of planned terrorist and intelligence operations was orchestrated by Iran’s intelligence service SEPAH, assigning local operatives to conduct surveillance, acquire weapons, and secure transportation," the SSS said.
Authorities reported that explosives were smuggled into the country by Iranian nationals in coordination with Azerbaijani accomplices.
A container near the settlement of Shikhov in the Sabail district was found to contain over 7.7 kilograms of C-4 explosives.
Additional devices were discovered in the Garadagh district, including a remote-controlled bomb capable of affecting a 250–300 metre radius.
Following preventive operations, Azerbaijani authorities detained several individuals. Four were sentenced to six years and six months in prison for involvement in the terrorist plot.
Others are under arrest for preparing the attempted assassination or illegally possessing explosives and firearms.
Officials identified a SEPAH officer, Colonel Ali Asgar Bordbar Sherami, as a key organiser. Several Iranian nationals involved in the plot have been placed on the international wanted list.
Baku’s announcements came the day after Iran launched a drone attack on Azerbaijan’s exclave of Nakhchivan, injuring four civilians, damaging Azerbaijan's Nakhchivan International Airport and a rural school.
Chairing a Security Council after the attack, Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev accused Tehran on Thursday of committing an “act of terror” and vowed that any attacks on Azerbaijan "will face our Iron Fist."
Over the last few days, Qatar and the UAE announced that they dismantled alleged cells of Iran's Revolutionary Guards operatives preparing attacks on their territories.