Israel and Azerbaijan agree on use of Azerbaijan airbases, US not happy

So the US is unhappy that Israel is doing whatever it can to protect itself from the genocidal threats coming out of Iran.  Coming to an agreement to use four abandoned Russian air bases on the border with Iran saves Israel valuable time and resources if and when they feel the need to stop Iran's nuclear program.  As Netanyahu says, Israel will do whatever it takes to protect it's land and people.

Whatever it takes.

From IsraelHayom March 29

 'Azerbaijan allows Israel to use its air bases near Iran border'

Up close and personal; Iran nuke sites                    Photo: Google earth

Senior American diplomats and military intelligence officers have told Foreign Policy magazine that the United States now believes that Israel has been granted access to air bases in Azerbaijan, which shares a border with Iran. “The Israelis have bought an airfield,” a senior official told Foreign Policy in early February, “and the airfield is called Azerbaijan.”

According to the Foreign Policy report, Israel’s embassy in Washington, the Israel Defense Forces and the Mossad spy agency were all contacted for comment but did not respond.

The Azeri Embassy in the U.S. also withheld a response, but a U.S. military intelligence officer has noted, according to Foreign Policy, that when posed with the question in the past, Azerbaijan’s Defense Minister Safar Abiyev had not explicitly said his country would bar Israeli bombers from landing there after an attack on Iran. Nor did he rule out granting Israel permission to station search-and-rescue units in the country, according to the report.

Israel’s ties with Azerbaijan, a Muslim country that became independent with the disintegration of the Soviet Union, have grown as its once-strong strategic relationship with another Iranian neighbor, Turkey, has deteriorated. For Israeli intelligence, there is also a possible added benefit from Azerbaijan: its significant cross-border contacts and trade with Iran’s large ethnic Azeri community.

Speaking to Foreign Policy, one of the U.S. sources said, “We’re watching what Iran does closely. But we’re now watching what Israel is doing in Azerbaijan. And we’re not happy about it.”

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