From Bahrain to Azerbaijan, Iran is obsessed with ‘Zionist’ threats - analysis

Iran has spent the last two decades trying to bring its forces to the borders of Israel. This desire was manifested by increasing support for Hamas, Hezbollah and also the Hashd al-Shaabi in Iraq. Now Iran is concerned about what it sees as a new threat; Tehran is worried about Israel’s role in the Gulf and also Israel-Azerbaijan relations.

Israel and Azerbaijan are strategic partners and Israel’s Defense Minister Benny Gantz recently visited Baku. At the same time, Israeli defense companies took part in the recent Bahrain Air International Show and Israeli Air Force commander General Eyal Grinboim visited Bahrain last week.  

In this context, Iran is increasingly concerned about Israel’s connections to Bahrain and Azerbaijan. It is important to Tehran because it reverses the usual role of Iran in the region, expanding its influence and attacking other countries by using proxies. Now it is Iran who is facing protests at home and is worried that countries closer to it.

It’s worth understanding this development in terms of Iran’s overall process of influence peddling and weapons trafficking to the region over the last two decades.

With Hezbollah, the Iranian connection goes back many decades, but it was in the wake of Israel’s withdrawal in 2000 that Iran and Hezbollah began to plan to increase tensions with Israel. READ MORE