Rabbi Zamir Isayev, the leader of the Sephardic-Georgian Jewish community in Baku, issued a sharp statement following reports in Israel regarding an “Azerbaijani spy ring” allegedly operating under Iranian influence. Isayev, representing the Jewish community in Azerbaijan—a country known for its strong ties with Israel—expressed deep shock and strongly denied any Azerbaijani involvement in the affair.
“We are astonished here in Azerbaijan to read about the so-called ‘Azerbaijani spy ring of Iranian agents,’” wrote Rabbi Isayev in an official statement. “It is unclear how Azerbaijan, the most friendly country to Israel, is being linked to such activities. We know that the main suspect, Aziz Nisanov, is a Mountain Jew who immigrated to Israel in 1989 at the age of eight, during the Soviet era. His children, who are also suspected, were born in Israel. To the best of our knowledge, none of them are Azerbaijani citizens.”
Rabbi Isayev condemned the defamation against the Azerbaijani expatriates in Israel, emphasizing that it is an attack on the 80,000 Azerbaijani Jews who faithfully serve the State of Israel. “These are the same individuals who serve loyally in the IDF, the police, and risk their lives for the country, just like all our brave people,” he stated. According to him, these false accusations serve Israel’s enemies, whose goal is to drive a wedge between Jerusalem and Baku.
The case, which has stirred both Israel and the Jewish community in Azerbaijan, involves seven Israeli citizens, including a father and son, who are suspected of maintaining contact with Iranian agents for two years. They allegedly gathered intelligence on Israeli military bases and tracked senior Israeli officials and their families as part of a planned assassination plot. Some of the suspects were caught surveilling a senior Israeli official and his son, who were reportedly targeted for an Iranian missile strike.
Rabbi Isayev expressed shock at the harm caused to the Jewish community and the strong ties between Azerbaijan and Israel, calling for an end to the slander and urging the preservation of the close cooperation between the two nations. “It is outrageous to defame an entire community because of a few criminals,” concluded the rabbi.
