Israel secretly deployed special forces and Mossad personnel to southern Azerbaijan during the war with Iran, a few dozen soldiers, multiple sites, roughly 60 miles from Tabriz. Mission: monitor northern Iran, run drones, support rescue operations, and plant listening devices along the border. Azerbaijan officially denies it. Israel hasn't commented. Israel reportedly built a ring of forward positions around Iran — Azerbaijan to the north, plus sites in Iraq, UAE, and Somaliland — while IDF commandos operated inside Iran itself. Source: CNN