Iran has launched a coordinated online campaign in recent days against the strategic ties between Jerusalem and Baku, with Azerbaijani Jewish war hero Albert Agarunov at the center of the effort. Azerbaijani-language posts on Telegram, TikTok, X and Facebook seek to undermine his national image, calling his story of bravery a “fabrication and a lie that has collapsed.” The campaign comes alongside renewed Iranian accusations that Azerbaijan serves as a forward base for Israeli activity against Iran.
Agarunov, a Mountain Jew born in Baku in 1969, volunteered as a tank commander during the first Nagorno-Karabakh war and was killed in the battle for Shusha on May 8, 1992. After his death he was named a “National Hero.” He is buried in Baku under Azerbaijani and Israeli flags, a school bears his name, and a monument stands in the capital. Azerbaijani authorities present him in history books as a symbol of the country’s multiethnic and tolerant character.
The Iranian campaign uses hashtags and language associated with Iran-backed subversive groups, and it has triggered a strong public backlash in Azerbaijan. An Israeli political source said on Monday that online monitoring showed “the overwhelming majority of the public rejects the slander” and continues to regard Agarunov as a national hero, while supporting ties with Israel, especially given Israeli security assistance that helped recover territory once held by Armenian separatists.
The same Israeli source said the online attack closely followed a CNN report last week citing unnamed sources who claimed Israeli commando units, along with intelligence and Mossad personnel, operated from locations in southern Azerbaijan to collect intelligence, fly drones, and conduct rescue operations near Iran’s northern border. Baku quickly denied those claims, saying it does not allow its territory to be used for military, intelligence, or hostile activity against any third country. The source called Agarunov’s targeting part of a wider pattern of hybrid threats, while Azerbaijan’s parliamentary committee on foreign interference said the country is facing a carefully planned campaign by Iranian influence networks using fake identities to depict Azerbaijan as serving Israeli interests and to weaken social cohesion.
