Azerbaijan and Israel began diplomatic relations in 1992 following Azerbaijan's independence from the Soviet Union. The relationship between Israel and Azerbaijan avoids overt military bases or formal alliance frameworks, instead operating through a deliberately low-profile strategy centered on arms transfers, intelligence collaboration, and sustained technological integration in the defense sector.
Azerbaijan has been strengthening its ties with Israel since 2011, and in 2022, it announced that it would be opening an embassy in Israel, marking the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two states.
Since the 1990s, Azerbaijan has played a vital role in Israel's regional security and energy strategies. In 2019, Azerbaijan supplied over 60% of the gasoline consumed in Israel. Additionally, Azerbaijan serves as Israel’s most significant partner among Muslim-majority nations, with both countries maintaining strong cooperation in defense, intelligence, and trade. According to security analyst, Gershon Kogan, Azerbaijan is Israel's "most consequential partner in the South Caucasus."
During the ongoing Gaza war, Azerbaijan was reported as one of the only Muslim-majority country supporting Israel. Despite pressure from other Muslim nations, Azerbaijani leadership maintained its strategic partnership with Israel. However, the relationship has faced increasing problems in recent years, in part due to the ongoing deterioration of the Israel–Turkey relations, which Turkey is a special ally of Azerbaijan and Baku's persistent support for Ankara's policies that often hostile against Israel's interests, and the increasingly sensitive Armenian genocide issue, despite Baku's attempt to maintain a middle ground.
History Early years
On 18 October 1991, the declaration of the Parliament of Azerbaijan restored the country's independence, and in November 1991 Turkey became the first state to formally recognise it. On 25 December 1991, Israel formally recognised the independence of Azerbaijan, becoming one of the first states to do so, and established diplomatic relations with the country on 7 April 1992. During the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Israel funded and provided weapons and artillery to Azerbaijan.
Azerbaijan is home to some 30,000 Jews, residing primarily in Baku and the Qırmızı Qəsəbə settlement in the Quba district of Azerbaijan. Mountain Jews have been living in Azerbaijan for close to 1,500 years; they are the descendants of Persian Jews. During the conquest by the Islamic Caliphate, Arabs settled an allied Jewish tribe in the neighbourhoods of Baku; in 1730, Jews were officially allowed the right of residence and property ownership in Quba. There are also nearly 5,000 Ashkenazi Jews living mostly in Baku. The first Jewish Sochnut school in the Soviet Union was opened in 1982 in Baku, then capital of Azerbaijan SSR.
By 1998, internal documents of Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs identified Azerbaijan as a “key state” in the region, emphasising its strategic importance to Israel’s regional policy.
21st century Since the late 2000s, Azerbaijan has been one of the largest importers of Israeli military technology. Over the 2010s, Israeli supplies accounted for 60–69% of Azerbaijan's total military imports.
According to a 2009 leaked U.S. diplomatic cable, Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev once compared his country's relationship with Israel to an iceberg: "Nine-tenths of it is below the surface."
In 2009, Israeli President Shimon Peres made a visit to Azerbaijan where military relations were expanded further, with the Israeli company Aeronautics Defense Systems Ltd announcing it would build a factory in Baku.
Azerbaijan was visited by David Harris, executive director of the American Jewish Committee, in July 2010, shortly after the visit of Hillary Clinton to Baku. During the reception, Harris referred to Azerbaijan's cultural, strategic and political importance.
In 2010, President Aliyev issued a decree banning the issue of visas at the country's international airports; foreigners henceforth had to apply for visas at the nearest Azerbaijani consulate. Israel and Turkey were the only two countries whose citizens were unaffected by the new law.Citizens of Turkey and Israel Unaffected by New Visa Issue Law . Vesti.az. November 9, 2010.
In 2016, Israel's Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman supported the position of Azerbaijan in the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, calling it "absolutely justified". Furthermore, Lieberman held Armenia responsible for provoking the conflict in April 2016.
A delegation of the World Jewish Congress visited Azerbaijan in September 2016; during the talks with President Aliyev emphasis was put on "excellent" relations with Israel and the Jewish community.
In December 2016, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu paid an official visit to Baku. During the visit he emphasized that "Israel and Azerbaijan enjoy an excellent relationship and warm friendship". During the visit Netanyahu visited the Alley of Martyrs and paid tribute to Azerbaijani heroes. He also visited the Ohr Avner Chabad Day School, met with the local Jewish community and gave a speech before students. Press statements made by the President Aliyev and Prime Minister Netanyahu also showed satisfaction with bilateral cooperation. Later that month, the Azerbaijan-Israel intergovernmental agreement on air communication was signed.
In December 2016, Israeli journalist Alexander Lapshin was arrested in Belarus at the request of Azerbaijan due to his visit to Nagorno-Karabakh. Despite protests from Israel, the Council of Europe, the UN Human Rights Committee and human rights organizations, Lapshin was extradited to Azerbaijan. By decision of the Baku criminal court he was sentenced to 3 years in prison. Immediately after the trial, under unclear circumstances, the journalist was assaulted by fellow inmates in prison, as a result of which he was taken to the hospital in critical condition. Immediately after this incident, the President of Azerbaijan issued a decree pardoning the convicted Israeli. Later, by a decision of the European Court of Human Rights dated May 21, 2021, the Azerbaijani authorities were found guilty of illegal arrest, cruel torture and organizing an attempted murder against Lapshin.
Azerbaijan was visited by John Shapiro, executive director of the American Jewish Committee, in January 2017, shortly after the visit of Benjamin Netanyahu to Baku. During the reception, Shapiro said that constructive partnership between Azerbaijan, United States, and Israel has a big significance.
In 2017, an Azerbaijani laundromat money-laundering scheme organized by Azerbaijan was uncovered, revealing that, between 2012 and 2014, Azerbaijan created a slush fund of $2.9 billion used to bribe European and American politicians, journalists, lawmakers, and academics to lobby for Azerbaijani interests abroad. One of the primary agendas of the laundromat was to portray Azerbaijan as "a role model for multicultural tolerance". In particular, Israeli and Jewish organizations in the United States and Europe were used to present Azerbaijan as "a trusted Muslim partner of Israel and the Jewish people". German and French lobbyists bribed by the laundromat frequently sought to portray Azerbaijan as a friend of Israel. The Podesta Group, an American lobbying firm paid $60,000 per month by the Azerbaijani government, contacted pro-Israel groups such as AIPAC and JINSA on behalf of Azerbaijan.
April 2017 marked the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between Israel and Azerbaijan. A congratulatory letter to the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev from the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu included:Israel is proud to have been one of the first nations to recognize the independent Republic of Azerbaijan. In the quarter-century since, our countries have built a solid relationship based on genuine friendship between the Jewish and Azerbaijani peoples. ... Azerbaijan is a model of inter-faith and multicultural harmony in an area fraught with religious and ethnic rivalries. Like you, Israel is a beacon of stability and tolerance in an unstable region. Despite the challenges we face, we have both succeeded in creating thriving economies and vibrant, prosperous and peace-seeking societies.Israeli–Azerbaijani ties strengthened since the very early 1990s. The strategic relationship included cooperation in trade and security matters, cultural and educational exchanges, etc. Relations entered a new phase in August 1997 during the visit of the then Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Baku. Since then Israel has been developing closer ties with Azerbaijan and has helped modernize the Armed Forces of Azerbaijan. The Israeli military has been a major provider of battlefield aviation, artillery, anti-tank, and anti-infantry weaponry to Azerbaijan.Jane's Defence Weekly, October 16, 1996
In March 2017, several regional tours were made by the Israeli envoy to Azerbaijan to deepen economic cooperation in the spheres of economy, agriculture, and tourism: Azerbaijan and Israel abolished double taxation between the two countries in April 2017.
During his speech at the 72nd session of the UN General Assembly on September 19, 2017, Netanyahu mentioned the expansion of cooperation between the two countries.
In January 2019, the State Border Service of Azerbaijan purchased SkyStriker kamikazes from Israel's Elbit Systems. Azerbaijan became the first foreign buyer of SkyStrikers.
During the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war with Armenia, Azerbaijan deployed Israeli-made weapons on Armenian targets. In March 2023 Azerbaijan opened its embassy in Israel.
In February 2024, Azerbaijani President Aliyev met with Israeli President Herzog, reaffirming bilateral relations between Israel and Azerbaijan amid the ongoing Gaza war. Azerbaijan is a major oil supplier to Israel and has resisted pressure to cut ties with Israel over the Gaza war.
In January 2026, Israeli and Azerbaijani officials met in Baku to discuss ongoing cooperation in digital development and transport. The meeting involved Azerbaijan’s Deputy Minister of Digital Development and Transport Samir Mammadov and Israeli Ambassador Ronen Krausz, who reviewed progress since the fourth session of the bilateral joint commission held in November 2025.
During the talks, the sides exchanged updates on existing cooperation projects, including the Azerbaijan Cybersecurity Center and the Vistar Center of Excellence established with Israeli partners in the aerospace and technology sectors. They also discussed future priority areas such as digitalisation of transport, urban mobility, artificial intelligence, innovation and startup support, and human capital development, building on earlier collaboration between the two countries in cybersecurity and advanced technologies.
Analysts describe Azerbaijan and Israel as trusted partners whose relationship extends beyond traditional energy and defense cooperation into expanding technology, innovation, and digital sectors, reinforcing both countries’ economic diversification and strategic ties in the 2020s.
Armenian genocide recognition
Historically, Israel took Azerbaijan's side, out of geopolitical concerns with Iran, and thus, also actively lobbies to reject the recognition of the Armenian genocide. However, Israel's relationship with Azerbaijan has suffered several downturns in recent years, in part due to the spillover of the increasingly hostile Israel–Turkey relations. Turkey is Azerbaijan's closest ally, with both share the same Oghuz Turkic ethnicities and similar in refusing recognition of the Armenian genocide; similarly, Baku has taken side of Ankara whenever coming to this dispute, even if Baku has sometimes opted to stay on the middle ground due to the country's position as the checkpoint against Russian and Iranian influences.