Azerbaijan as Israel's Anti-Iran 'Staging Ground' a Tough Sell

As tensions over Iran’s nuclear program rise, assertions that Israel’s increasing closeness to Azerbaijan, a predominantly Muslim state on Iran’s northern border, represents the emergence of an anti-Iran “tag team” are gaining currency. But despite undoubtedly warming ties between the two countries, there is no indication that Baku is in any hurry to sacrifice its national interests by participating in a conflict that could possibly drag it into a regional conflagration.

Though a recently signed $1.6 billion arms deal has put the Israel-Azerbaijan relationship in the spotlight of late, an article on the Foreign Policy website, vaulted the South Caucasus from ancillary consideration to top billing in the latest Iran-related geopolitical intrigue. The article, “Israel’s Secret Staging Ground,” which casts Azerbaijan as Israel’s willing accomplice in an impending strike on Iran, is long on supposition and rumor, and fails to assemble a cohesive narrative, while running up against a raft of logical inconsistencies. ...