Azerbaijan has rejected a CNN report claiming that Israel secretly deployed military and intelligence personnel on its territory for operations against Iran, calling the allegations “completely unfounded”, according to Al Jazeera.

The foreign ministry has said in a statement that Azerbaijan has repeatedly denied such claims and that its official position was communicated to CNN in advance of the article’s publication. It has accused the network of relying on anonymous sources and disregarding Baku’s official response, saying this contradicts “the principles of objectivity, impartiality, and professional ethics of journalism”.

“We have never permitted and will never permit such activities,” the statement says, adding that Azerbaijan is committed to promoting peace, stability, and good neighbourly relations in the region.

The ministry has demanded that CNN retract the article.

The CNN report claims that Israel deployed several dozen elite troops and Mossad personnel to locations in southern Azerbaijan near the Iranian border during the war on Iran. The report alleged that the forces conducted intelligence-gathering and drone operations, and that one of the operations launched from Azerbaijani territory was the March 4 killing of a senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps intelligence commander.