Eli Cohen: The Islamic Republic is Involved in the Plot to Attack the Israeli Embassy in Baku

Eli Cohen, Israel's Foreign Minister, on Wednesday morning, July 21, during a meeting with Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, called for Serbia to "condemn and oppose" Iran's terrorist weapons. He also accused the Islamic Republic of being involved in planning an attack on the Israeli embassy in Baku. According to the Jerusalem Post, the Israeli Foreign Minister emphasized that "only a joint fight against Iran can prevent the continued weakening of stability in the region." Cohen further stated, "After three years of political stagnation, today a new chapter has been turned in Israel-Serbia relations. Serbia is a very important country in the Balkans and a supporter of Israel." In this meeting, both sides also discussed strengthening relations between Israel and Serbia and the significant potential for cooperation in the fields of "economics, innovation, and cyber defense." This meeting was the first visit by an Israeli Foreign Minister to Serbia in the past 14 years. Israeli media reported on Tuesday, July 20, the arrest of an Afghan citizen on suspicion of "planning an attack on the Israeli embassy in Baku," noting that he had entered the country from Iran. Azerbaijan announced on July 19 that an Afghan national who had entered its territory from "a third country" was arrested on suspicion of conspiracy with others to carry out a terrorist attack on the embassy of a third country in Baku. Relations between Iran and Azerbaijan, which have soured in recent months, deteriorated after an armed Iranian man entered the Azerbaijani embassy in Tehran and killed the head of the embassy's security team. Baku claims that the Islamic Republic's intelligence service was behind this attack, but Tehran denies this. Following this, Iran expelled four Azerbaijani diplomats in May of this year. The Iranian Foreign Ministry stated that this action was "in response" to the expulsion of Islamic Republic embassy staff in Baku in April. Meanwhile, the increasing relations between Israel and Azerbaijan have heightened tensions between Tehran and Baku. Iran's border with Azerbaijan is about 160 kilometers from the capital Baku.