In 2012, a major terror threat against Jewish targets was foiled in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Times of Israel reported at the time:
Piece by piece, the tools for an alleged Iranian-directed murder team were smuggled into Azerbaijan on the Caspian Sea. A sniper rifle with silencer. Pistols. Sixteen pieces of plastic explosives and detonators.
Finally came a dossier with photos, names and exacting details — down to workplace drawings — for Israeli targets in the capital of Azerbaijan.
Each step, according to authorities in Baku, was overseen by Iran’s intelligence services for what could have been a stunning attack weeks before the suspected shadow war between Jerusalem and Tehran flared in Azerbaijan’s neighbor Georgia and the megacities New Delhi and Bangkok.
Azeri police arrested an undisclosed number of people on Tuesday for suspected links to Tehran and Hezbollah who were plotting terrorist attacks, AFP reported according to Al Arabiya News.
The individuals in question amassed an arsenal of firearms and explosives and had carried out surveillance of targets in Baku, officials said.
Now Jewish MP from Azerbaijan, Yevda Abramov, says that the Mossad is who foiled the plot:
Member of the Milli Majlis (Azerbaijani Parliament) Yevda Abramov revealed the sensational facts about the involvement of Israeli intelligence services in anti-terrorist operations in the territory of Azerbaijan. In an interview to Modern.az the MP noted that Mossad intelligence service’s operatives had been participating in the protection of objects during the European Games in Baku.‘During the Eurovision song contest in Baku, Mossad divers neutralised in the sea a group of terrorists, who arrived from Iran to Azerbaijan. In the European games 2015 Mossad participated in the protection of the main objects in Baku,’ said Yevda Abramov.
Azerbaijani MP also noted that relations between Azerbaijan and Israel were at a high level.
I found what I think is the original interview, but I could not decipher any part that said that the Mossad is what foiled the attack, although he definitely emphasized that the Mossad works closely with Azerbaijan intelligence and that Avigdor Lieberman is a great friend of the country.
In addition, Abramov said that the local media parrots the most ridiculous anti-Israel stories, like saying that Israel was responsible for creating a sandstorm that occurred when Shimon Peres visited, foiling a plot against him with the storm.
He blames the anti-Israel stories on Iranian connections and outreach to Azerbaijani journalists.
There are reports that Netanyahu is planning to visit Azerbaijan, which is a Muslim-majority country, in December.
(h/t Yigal B)
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