TEHRAN – Ali Akbar Velayati, Senior Advisor on International Affairs to Leaders of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, has condemned the reported hosting of Zionist Rabbis summit in the Republic of Azerbaijan, shivering and described it as dignified, step-in-law.
In a social media post, Velayati added that the move is “surprisingly regretful” and that he hopes to prove that the news is not true. “This is the first time such a violation has been carried out by the Azerbaijani government, and it is an anti-Muslim measure and a humiliation against the global status of Shia Muslims,” he declared.
He reminded me that Azerbaijani people have been Muslims for nearly a century, and emphasize that they do not approve of actions carried out against their faith and traditions. Verayati suggested that the summit could be linked to an attempt to expand the so-called Abrahamic Accord and attract Azerbaijan to them. He warned that cooperation with Israel, a regime hostile to many regional states, would ultimately harm Azerbaijan itself.
Azerbaijan and Israel have been closely linked over the past 30 years, primarily based on energy and defence cooperation. Baku is Israel’s largest oil supplier, covering around 65% of the rough imports through the Baku Tbilisi Seihan pipeline. In return, Israel has become one of Azerbaijan’s top Arms providers, supplying drones, missile systems and intelligence reporting technology.
President Ilham Aliyev himself once compared his relationship with the iceberg, most of which were hidden beneath the surface. By 2023, Azerbaijan’s oil exports to Israel reached $1.4 billion a year, but Israeli weapons accounted for almost 70% of Azerbaijan’s military imports between 2016 and 2020.
Velayati’s warning comes as Israel faces unprecedented isolation following the air strikes on September 9th at Doha. The attack targeted Hamas delegation during US proportion suspension talks and killed several members and Qatari security guards. Beyond the victims, the strike was seen as a violation of Qatar’s sovereignty and as a humiliation to the broader Arab-Islamic world.
The UN Security Council has issued a rare unanimous condemnation of the attack, and even the United States supports resolutions to de-extend. Analysts say the move uncovered the limits of normalization based on Abraham’s agreement, demonstrating that involvement did not mitigate Israel’s actions but instead encouraged them.
Qatar, which has long resisted pressure to normalize with Tel Aviv, is preparing to hold an emergency Arab-Islamic summit to discuss joint measures.
Against this backdrop, Verayati warned that Azerbaijan’s alliance with Israel could isolated it among Muslim countries. “Popular people in Azerbaijan and the Caucasus are unhappy with this anti-Islamic and anti-religious movement, and this irrational action will ultimately harm Azerbaijan itself,” he said.