News with sensational headlines about the presence of Israeli military personnel in these two South Caucasus countries quickly spread across media outlets, citing Israel’s public broadcaster, Kan.
According to this “source,” Israeli military personnel currently stationed in these republics for unspecified reasons are required to return to Israel immediately, as both locations reportedly have Iranian threats. But where’s the logic in that?
These countries do not conduct joint military exercises with Israel, do not host Israeli military bases, nor have any relevant agreements in place. There shouldn’t be any official military presence there. And Georgia doesn’t even share a border with Iran. Countries like Turkey, Turkmenistan, or Pakistan do border Iran, but they weren’t mentioned in the directive. This raises the question: why these countries, and where did these soldiers come from? Let’s tackle the second question first.
It’s important to highlight that the information provided was unofficial and incomplete, although some supplementary details did emerge later.
Armenia, the only South Caucasus country not mentioned by Kan, apparently unraveled the mystery ahead of time. Experienced investigators from Telegram channels, not waiting for dawn, “uncovered” a secret agreement between Azerbaijan and Israel to station a military contingent in the country, supposedly trained to battle the “invincible” Armenian army. However, the truth was far from these Armenian fantasies.
Despite the status of the official state broadcaster, Kan’s information, no matter how “exclusive” it may have seemed, turned out to be nothing more than foolish clickbait in the vein of “SHOCK! SHOCK! SHOCK!” with content akin to a recipe for eternal life or “Julia is 5 meters away from you.”
Before explaining why, it’s worth noting that in Israel, a large portion of the population, including women, is subject to military service. Thus, the reasons for soldiers and reservists being abroad can be quite varied, especially during the summer in two safe, relatively affordable, seaside resort countries.
The following day, Israeli Air Force Commander Major General Tomer Bar issued an order banning active military personnel from going on vacation abroad. He added that overseas trips for official meetings or training would require individual approval. The order referred to vacation—vacation for regular citizens who have completed their service but remain reservists. Incidentally, Israeli media had earlier reported a 50% increase in visits to Azerbaijan by Israelis after the resumption of direct flights between Tel Aviv and Baku, citing official statistics.
The matter was finally put to rest by Azerbaijan’s Media Development Agency, which issued a statement clarifying that no foreign military contingent exists on Azerbaijani soil. The Agency strongly condemned Kan and other media outlets for their information manipulation based on false data and urged adherence to journalistic ethics. The Georgian side saw no need to respond to the illogical accusations.
However, one question remains: why were these countries mentioned in the first place?
In any case, the focus on the South Caucasus was deliberate. This was nothing more than a clickbait provocation aimed primarily at Azerbaijan, which borders Iran. The goal was clear—to strain Baku’s relationship with its friendly neighbor Tehran against the backdrop of escalating tensions in the Middle East. It seems certain factions are eager to expand the conflict zone by destabilizing neighboring regions.
Translated from the Telegram channel @Caucasian_bureau
