For the second time in the past year, Azerbaijan’s State Security Service (SSS) successfully foiled a plot to assassinate Jewish community leaders in Baku, alongside a series of planned attacks targeting key infrastructure and Jewish community sites across the country, including the local Chabad center.

The discovery was made during a counter-intelligence investigation conducted by the SSS. According to the agency, the suspects had been preparing attacks against several locations, including the Baku–Tbilisi–Ceyhan oil pipeline, the Israeli embassy in Baku, Jewish community leadership, and the Chabad center in the capital.

As previously reported by Anash.org, Rabbi Shneur Segal, Shliach to the Jewish community of Baku, Azerbaijan, was unknowingly targeted last year in an assassination plot by Iranian operatives linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ (IRGC) Quds Force.

As reported, a Georgian drug trafficker recruited a local accomplice, and the two gathered information about Rabbi Segal’s home and workplace, sending the details to Iranian handlers through a mobile app. They were promised $200,000 to carry out the attack.

In the current plot, authorities have not yet publicly identified who was behind it. Investigators reported that explosive materials had been smuggled into the country and hidden in several locations. In one case, more than 7.7 kilograms of C-4 explosives were discovered. Additional explosive devices were later found in the Garadagh district, including a remote-controlled bomb capable of causing damage within a radius of up to 300 meters, according to officials.

“The series of planned terrorist and intelligence operations was orchestrated by Iran’s intelligence service SEPAH, assigning local operatives to conduct surveillance, acquire weapons, and secure transportation,” the SSS said in a statement.

Authorities said explosives had been smuggled into Azerbaijan by Iranian nationals working with local accomplices.

Following the investigation, Azerbaijani authorities arrested several suspects connected to the plot. Four individuals were later sentenced to six years and six months in prison for their involvement, while other suspects remain in custody facing charges that include preparing an assassination attempt and illegal possession of explosives and firearms.

Officials identified SEPAH officer Colonel Ali Asgar Bordbar Sherami as one of the main organizers.

Several Iranian nationals linked to the operation have been placed on an international wanted list for their alleged roles in gathering intelligence and organizing sabotage aimed at destabilizing society and spreading fear.

Baku’s announcement came a day after Iran launched a drone attack on Azerbaijan’s exclave of Nakhchivan, injuring four civilians and damaging Nakhchivan International Airport and a nearby rural school.

Chairing a Security Council meeting after the incident, President Ilham Aliyev accused Tehran on Thursday of committing an “act of terror” and warned that any further attacks on Azerbaijan “will face our Iron Fist”.

These incidents come amid heightened tensions with the Iranian regime and follow the assassination of Rabbi Zvi Kogan last year in Abu Dhabi, which was reportedly carried out by Iranian-linked operatives. The case is part of a broader pattern of Iranian-backed threats targeting Jewish figures and institutions in Muslim countries.

Despite the planned attacks, Rabbi Segal says that the Jewish community feels secure in Azerbaijan. “I’ve never once heard a negative word about being a Jew in Azerbaijan,” Segal said. “Not in the streets, not in offices, not anywhere. I walk in my full Chassidic dress and beard, and I’ve never felt unsafe.”

Rabbi Segal said the Jews of Azerbaijan share a strong communal life and maintain warm relations with the Muslim majority and government. He noted that authorities, and President Ilham Aliyev in particular, regularly assist the community with its religious and communal needs, reflecting the country’s multicultural vision.

The threats, he says, come mainly from outside actors seeking to disrupt that harmony, stressing that locally “we’re family… Jews and Muslims. And you don’t hurt family.” He added that the coexistence feels like a blessing: “We pray three times a day for peace – and you can feel it here.”

“Azerbaijan is a unique country that shows the world how people of different ethnicities and religions can live together peacefully and with mutual respect,” said Roman Gurevich, the honorary ambassador to Azerbaijan for the Jewish Agency for Israel. “For generations, Jews and Muslims have lived there in friendship, and the country’s strong ties with Israel reflect that tradition of tolerance.”