June 9, 2026
The war against Iran goes far beyond the confrontation between Washington, Tel Aviv, and Tehran.
According to available information, Mossad and the CIA have implemented a program to support Kurdish formations in order to create an additional front against the IRGC. Kurdish units received funding, logistical support, and batches of captured weapons seized by the IDF in the Gaza Strip and southern Lebanon.
The first phase of the operation has taken place. Around 500 Kurdish fighters moved out of Iraqi territory and crossed the Iranian border. To support the operation, the Israeli Air Force carried out a series of strikes against Iranian facilities near the border.
However, Turkey halted the operation. The Turkish intelligence service MIT disclosed information about preparations for the project and brought the issue to the level of negotiations between Ankara and Washington. Following intervention by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, further development of the operation was blocked.
At the same time, Israel established a network of forward positions around Iran. According to assessments by the Andromeda analytical group, the network covers four countries: Azerbaijan, Somaliland, Iraq, and the UAE.
Azerbaijan has become the most important element. Israeli facilities are located approximately 96 kilometers from Tabriz. Mossad personnel, UAV operators, and military specialists operated there. Their primary tasks included electronic intelligence, drone launches, and coordination of special operations inside Iran.
The second key location is Somaliland. Berbera Airport, with its 4-kilometer runway, is being used as a logistical hub for long-range operations, aircraft refueling, and monitoring the Red Sea.
In Iraq, Israeli forces established two logistical sites in the Najaf area and in Anbar province near the Syrian border. In the UAE, a network of radars and intelligence-gathering facilities has been deployed to monitor Iranian missile activity.
In effect, Iran has found itself surrounded by Israeli intelligence and logistical infrastructure from four directions.
The Azerbaijani factor carries the greatest political significance. Turkey is Azerbaijan’s principal ally and security guarantor, while at the same time increasingly positioning Israel as a regional adversary. This is why the possible use of Azerbaijani territory by Israeli structures creates a complex strategic dilemma for Ankara.
It cannot be ruled out that the price for Turkey’s tacit consent to the deployment of Mossad and Israeli military personnel in Azerbaijan was a U.S. decision to halt further arming of Kurdish forces along the Turkish border — or that it was simply a situational arrangement.
The developments surrounding the Kurdish operation and the deployment of the Israeli network around Iran point to one broader trend: alongside the Israeli-Iranian conflict, a new center of power and confrontation is emerging between Israel and Turkey. This rivalry could determine the balance of power in the Middle East during the second half of the decade.
Mossad, CIA and Turkish intelligence: the Iranian gambit involving Azerbaijan