AZE.US
Baku says CNN published false claims that Azerbaijan’s territory had been used for Israeli military and intelligence operations against neighboring Iran, despite receiving an official denial before publication.
Azerbaijan has filed a lawsuit against CNN in a U.S. federal court over an article alleging that Israeli military and intelligence units operated from Azerbaijani territory against Iran.
The lawsuit was formally filed on August 17 in federal court in Delaware, where the media company is incorporated, according to Azerbaijan’s Report news agency.
The dispute centers on a CNN article published on June 5. Citing anonymous sources, the report alleged that Israel had deployed special forces to several locations in southern Azerbaijan near the Iranian border.
CNN’s sources claimed that the units conducted intelligence-gathering and drone operations from those locations. The article also alleged that Israel had previously installed surveillance devices and other intelligence equipment in Azerbaijan in preparation for operations against Iran.
According to CNN, one of the key missions allegedly coordinated from Azerbaijani territory was the March 4 killing of Rahman Moghadam, the head of an intelligence unit within Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Israel had identified Moghadam as an alleged organizer of a 2024 plot to assassinate Donald Trump.
Azerbaijan has categorically rejected the allegations.
Baku says CNN was informed of its position before the article was published. In its response to the network, the Azerbaijani government stated that it had not permitted any third country to use its territory for military or intelligence operations against Iran.
Despite receiving that response, Azerbaijan argues that its position was not adequately reflected in the article, while the central allegations were presented largely through unnamed sources.
Following publication, Baku formally demanded that CNN retract the allegations and correct the article. Azerbaijani officials sent follow-up letters to the network on June 6, June 23 and July 2. The spokesperson for Azerbaijan’s Foreign Ministry also publicly rejected the claims.
According to Report, CNN said it would review Azerbaijan’s complaints but did not publish a correction or retraction. Baku subsequently decided to pursue the matter in a U.S. court.
Azerbaijani officials have repeatedly said that the country does not allow foreign forces to use its territory for operations against neighboring states.
The Azerbaijani side has also criticized previous reporting by Tim Lister, one of the authors of the disputed CNN article. Baku says his coverage of the 2020 Second Karabakh War and Azerbaijan’s 2023 military operation reflected a similarly one-sided approach toward the country.
AZE.US