A bombshell new report published Friday by CNN has laid bare extensive, secretive deployments of Israeli special operations forces and intelligence personnel across four countries in the broader Middle East region, carried out amid Israel’s ongoing open conflict with Iran. Citing four anonymous sources with direct knowledge of the activities, the outlet details that operatives from Israel’s iconic foreign intelligence agency Mossad, alongside elite units of the Israeli military including a specialized airborne rescue detachment from the Israeli Air Force, were positioned in southern Azerbaijan, just kilometers from the Iranian border. At their closest point, these deployments sit roughly 100 kilometers outside of major Iranian city Tabriz, placing critical Iranian infrastructure and military assets well within operational range.
According to the report, the deployed Israeli personnel have conducted two core mission sets: coordinated drone strikes against targeted individuals and broad, systematic intelligence gathering to map Iranian military movements and facilities. One high-profile strike launched from Azerbaijani soil, a source confirms, was the assassination of Rahman Moghaddam, a senior leader of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) who oversaw the force’s special intelligence operations division. Moghaddam was killed in an attack on March 4. Just 24 hours after that killing, unmanned aerial vehicles targeted Nakhchivan International Airport in Azerbaijan and an adjacent local village. Azerbaijani authorities in Baku immediately pinned the blame for the strike on Iran, a charge Tehran has repeatedly and categorically denied.
Beyond Azerbaijan, CNN’s investigation reveals that Israel has built and maintained a sprawling network of covert operational outposts and bases scattered across the broader Middle East and Horn of Africa, with additional facilities located in Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, and the self-declared independent state of Somaliland. The report notes that a portion of these sites were developed with the explicit knowledge and approval of host nation governments, while other covert positions may have been established without the host authority’s awareness.
Within hours of the report’s publication, the Embassy of Azerbaijan in Washington DC issued a sharp rejection of the claims, telling CNN that Baku dismisses all unfounded assertions that Azerbaijani territory has been used to launch offensive operations against any third country.
On the Somaliland front, the report confirms that the breakaway region in northern Somalia, which has not received widespread international recognition as an independent state, has hosted hidden Israeli operational positions. Notably, Israel made global headlines in December 2024 when it became the first United Nations member state to formally recognize Somaliland’s sovereignty. As of Saturday morning, Somaliland authorities had not issued any public response to CNN’s reporting.
The new revelations build on similar reporting published in recent weeks by other major international outlets. The Wall Street Journal and The New York Times both reported last month that Israel had constructed two secret operational facilities inside Iraq amid its escalating conflict with Iran. Separately, Axios and the Financial Times also confirmed that Israel has deployed active-duty ground troops, an Iron Dome air defense battery, and additional advanced air defense systems to the UAE since the outbreak of the current conflict with Iran.
CNN’s sources also shared details of pre-planned Israeli covert activity dating back to earlier this year. When large-scale anti-government protests roiled Iran in January, Israeli special operations command finalized preparations for a secret mission along the Azerbaijan-Iran border. The planned operation was designed to lay groundwork for future strikes by establishing long-term surveillance infrastructure in the border region. After the protests wrapped up, Israeli special forces accompanied by stealth aircraft were deployed to install the intelligence gathering equipment, which has since been used to continuously monitor Iranian military movements and key facilities along the border, the report says.
Diplomatic records confirm that Israel has long maintained deep, formal strategic partnerships with both Azerbaijan and the UAE. For Baku, Israeli cooperation extends across energy development, advanced defense systems sales, and cybersecurity collaboration. With the UAE, Israeli ties focus heavily on expanding economic integration, joint intelligence sharing, and public and private security partnerships.