A day following the visit of Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar: Azerbaijani authorities announced on Tuesday that they had arrested three individuals plotting an attack on the Israeli embassy in Baku (the capital city), under the direction of the ISIS affiliate in Afghanistan. A statement from the State Security Service (the DTX) reported that the three men – whose names were released – conspired with operatives from ISIS-K (Islamic State Khorasan Province), secured weapons, and planned to strike a foreign diplomatic mission before being intercepted by security forces.
As noted, Foreign Minister Gideon Sa'ar met on Monday with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev at his official residence in Baku. The leaders held a one-on-one meeting followed by an expanded session attended by Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov and Azerbaijani Economy Minister Mikayil Jabbarov.
The discussions focused on bolstering cooperation between the nations in energy, artificial intelligence, agriculture, water, defense, and tourism. Sa'ar noted that the substantial business-economic delegation accompanying his visit would strengthen bilateral ties in these sectors and beyond. Minister Sa'ar invited President Aliyev to visit Israel.
Earlier on Tuesday, according to a report from Reuters on Tuesday, authorities in Azerbaijan apprehended three individuals accused of conspiring to launch an assault on a foreign embassy located in Baku, acting on directives from the Islamic State Khorasan (ISIS-K), an affiliate of the Islamic State based in Afghanistan.
Baku authorities said that the three men – whose identities were disclosed in the announcement – had coordinated their efforts with ISIS-K operatives, secured weaponry, and finalized plans to strike a foreign mission before security forces intercepted them, Reuters reported.
While the official communication did not specify which foreign embassy was targeted, the news agency noted that one of the detainees was born in 2000, while the other two were born in 2005.
ISIS-K, also known as Islamic State-Khorasan, previously claimed responsibility for the deadly attack at Crocus City Hall (a music venue near Moscow) in 2024, which resulted in the deaths of at least 145 people.
Reuters noted that security agencies have thwarted several conspiracies tied to the Islamic State in Central Asia and within the Muslim-majority areas of Russia, where the entity is designated as an illegal terrorist organization.
Azerbaijan, a nation in the South Caucasus with a population of approximately 10 million that shares borders with Iran and Russia, maintains a secular government despite having a predominantly Muslim population, most of whom are Shiites (followers of the Shia branch of Islam).
In the official statement, Azerbaijani authorities indicated that the suspects face charges of "preparation for terrorism" grounded in religious animosity, adding that the inquiry is still in progress, according to Reuters.
