Azerbaijan’s State Security Service (SSS) announced it had foiled an Iranian-backed terror plot aimed at assassinating a prominent leader of the Jewish community in the country, which shares a border with Iran.
In a special operation, authorities arrested two suspects: a local Azerbaijani resident and a Georgian national. According to the official statement, one of the suspects, Georgian citizen Agil Aslanov, who has a history of drug smuggling, traveled to a third country in September 2024. There, he allegedly met with operatives from a foreign intelligence agency, suspected to be Iran.
During the meeting, Iranian operatives reportedly showed Aslanov photos of a member of Azerbaijan’s Jewish community and offered him $200,000 to carry out the assassination. Aslanov agreed and was tasked with gathering and transmitting intelligence on the target, including his workplace and routine. He received an initial payment of $2,000 as a retainer.
Upon arriving in Baku to execute the mission, Aslanov worked alongside Ceyhun Ismayilov, an Azerbaijani national also involved in criminal activity. The pair collected information on the Jewish leader, monitored his movements, and sent coordinates of his residence and workplace to their Iranian handler via a messaging app.
Based on this evidence, Azerbaijan’s security service launched a criminal case against the suspects for their involvement in terrorism.
A senior member of Azerbaijan’s Jewish community expressed concern over Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), stating: “It’s likely the Quds Force Unit 400 is behind this. They have a tradition of recruiting drug smugglers. Thankfully, they only manage to recruit individuals with low intelligence or fanatics from rural areas.”
The official also noted that the cell may have been gathering information on multiple individuals within the Jewish community, suggesting the plot could have targeted more than one leader. “The suspects appeared to be prioritizing who would be the easiest and most impactful target,” he said.
Azerbaijan’s State Security Service remains vigilant, emphasizing its commitment to protecting Jewish and Israeli individuals in the country.
