Azerbaijan is set to become the first Shi’ite Muslim-majority state to open an embassy in Israel, following parliamentary approval on Friday.
The new embassy, which The Jerusalem Post reported was in the works last month, will be in Tel Aviv, where the country already has a Tourism Office and a Trade Representative Office. Israel and Azerbaijan have had relations for 30 years, and there has been an Israeli embassy in Baku since 1993.
Prime Minister Yair Lapid praised the decision, calling Azerbaijan “an important partner of Israel and home to one of the largest Jewish communities in the Muslim world. “The decision to open an embassy reflects the depth of the relations between the countries,” Lapid added. “This move is the fruit of efforts by the Israeli government to build strong diplomatic bridges with the Muslim world.”
Baku’s decision comes amid tensions with Tehran.
Arzu Naghiyev, a lawmaker and member of the Azerbaijan-Israel parliamentary friendship group, tied in an interview last month the potential embassy in Israel with Iran opening an additional consulate and declaring close ties with Armenia, with which Azerbaijan fought a war in 2020.
In Iran, which has a large Azeri minority, state television aired a song threatening Israel and Azerbaijan, with the lyrics “Israel… don’t dig your own grave with your own hands… Iran declares this so that Azerbaijan knows and understands… anyone who looks at Iran the wrong way must be destroyed.”
Iran and Azerbaijan share a 420-mile border, and there has long been speculation that Israel has launched covert operations in Iran from its northern neighbor. Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian accused Israel of having “established its presence in several regions of Azerbaijan,” which Baku denied.
Soon after, Iran staged a military drill with thousands of soldiers along the border. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev responded by having himself photographed with Israeli Harop kamikaze drones, which are produced in his country. Tehran has held further military drills near its border with Azerbaijan in recent weeks.
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