Israel said on Monday it had uncovered an Iranian network that had planned an attack on an oil pipeline carrying crude oil from Azerbaijan to the Mediterranean Sea, as well as on Israeli and Jewish sites in Azerbaijan, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
In a joint statement, Israel's Mossad and Shin Bet intelligence services said that a plan by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to attack the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline through Georgia to Turkey several weeks ago had been foiled.
The group also planned attacks on Jewish and Israeli sites in Azerbaijan, including the Israeli embassy and synagogue in Baku, as well as against leaders of the country's Jewish community, the services said.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Members of the group, who were in possession of explosive drones and fragmentation explosive devices, were arrested by Azerbaijani authorities.
“To carry out their intentions, the group gathered intelligence on targets through various methods, including physical surveillance and filming, all under the direct orders of their leaders in Iran,“ the statement said.
“This exposure, together with intensive intelligence investigations and operational actions on the ground, led to the discovery of a secret terrorist network established within the KGIR and its chain of command,“ the statement said.
The group was also said to have been led by Rahman Moghadam, who was also the head of the special operations department in the KGIR intelligence.
Moghadam was killed last month in Israeli airstrikes, part of an Israeli-US air conflict against Iran that began on February 28.