Azerbaijan’s Security Service (SSS) says Iran's SEPAH planned a series of attacks and intelligence operations by "assigning local operatives to conduct surveillance, acquire weapons, and secure transportation.”
Authorities reported that explosives were smuggled into the country by Iranian nationals in coordination with Azerbaijani accomplices.
Officials identified a SEPAH officer, Colonel Ali Asgar Bordbar Sherami, as a key organiser. Several Iranian nationals involved in the plot have been placed on the international wanted list.
Over the last few days, Qatar and the UAE announced that they dismantled alleged Iranian cells of Revolutionary Guards operatives preparing attacks on their territories.
Follow the live blog as Euronews journalists from the region and worldwide bring you the latest developments.
Moscow provides Tehran critical intelligence to strike US warships, according to officials
Russia has provided Iran with information that could help Tehran strike American warships, aircraft and other assets in the region, according to two officials familiar with US intelligence on the matter.
The people, who were not authorised to comment publicly on the sensitive matter and spoke on condition of anonymity, cautioned that US intelligence has not uncovered evidence that Russia is directing Iran on what to do with the information.
Still, it’s the first indication that Moscow has sought to get involved in the war that the US and Israel launched against Iran a week ago. Russia has tightened its relationship with Iran as it looked for badly needed missiles and drones to utilise in its four-year war against Ukraine.
Tehran, meanwhile, has been isolated for years over its nuclear program and its support of proxy groups, including Hezbollah, Hamas and the Houthis, that have wreaked havoc in the Middle East.
Azerbaijan dismantles alleged Iranian 'terror cells'
Baku’s State Security Service (SSS) claims to have prevented a series of terror attacks allegedly orchestrated by Iran’s SEPAH against 4 targets in the country: the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline, the Israeli Embassy in Azerbaijan, a leader of the Mountain Jews religious community and the "Ashkenazi" synagogue, according to Azerbaijan’s media.
Authorities say explosives were smuggled into the country, including 7.7kg of C-4 and a remote-controlled bomb capable of a 300-metre blast radius. Officials also allege the group planned to assassinate a public figure in Azerbaijan.
Several individuals have been detained, with four already sentenced to six-and-a-half years in prison. An Iranian colonel was identified as a key organiser, and several Iranian nationals have been placed on the international wanted list.
The announcement comes just a day after a drone attack on the Azerbaijani exclave of Nakhchivan. President Ilham Aliyev placed the army on "full combat readiness" and instructed the armed forces to prepare response measures.
France deploys helicopter carrier to Mediterranean
France has sent a helicopter carrier to the Mediterranean in response to the Iran war, the French military said on Friday.
"An amphibious helicopter carrier has been deployed in the Mediterranean to reinforce the presence of the French armed forces in the context of the Middle East crisis," a spokeswoman said, after France decided to deploy its flagship aircraft carrier and a frigate earlier in the week.
A similar ship was sent off the shore of Lebanon as a precautionary measure to help with repatriations if needed during the 2024 war between Israel and Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. The current conflict has already drawn in Lebanon.
On Thursday, France's Emannuel Macron spoke to Italy's Giorgia Meloni and Greece's Kyriakos Mitsotakis to coordinate the military capabilities they're sending to Cyprus, a source close to the French president said.
The three leaders also agreed to "work together to guarantee freedom of navigation in the Red Sea", the source also said.
France, Italy and Greece all participate in Operation Aspides, which aims to secure passage for commercial vessels in the Red Sea, with the first two also taking part in counter-piracy Operation Atalanta off the Horn of Africa.
Iranian warship docks in Indian port of Kochi after IRIS Dena Sri Lanka sinking
An Iranian warship has docked in the southwest Indian port of Kochi, a government source in New Delhi said on Friday, after a US submarine sank another Iranian frigate and a third docked in Sri Lanka.
"IRIS Lavan... docked at Kochi on 4 March. In this context, its crew of 183 are currently accommodated at naval facilities in Kochi," the source said.
The news of Lavan's arrival in India comes after Sri Lankan authorities said a second Iranian warship was heading towards its territorial waters on Thursday, amid fears it might be targeted by US naval assets.
IRIS Dena, its sister vessel, was sunk by a torpedo just off Sri Lanka's southern coast, US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth confirmed on Wednesday.
At least 87 sailors were killed, while Sri Lankan authorities said 32 rescued sailors were still receiving medical care on Thursday.
Israel says Iran and Hezbollah coordinated missile launches Thursday
Israel's military said Friday it had identified "simultaneous and coordinated" missile launches by Iran and Lebanese militant group Hezbollah aimed at overwhelming Israeli air defences.
Israeli army "identified yesterday simultaneous and coordinated attacks between Iran and Hezbollah, simultaneous missile launching from both Iran and Lebanon in an attempt to overwhelm our aerial defence systems," military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani told journalists.
Shoshani added that there had been no "signficant hits" on Israel in the last 24 hours.
Which country is likely winning from Iran's Hormuz gambit?
It did not take long for the fallout of the Iran war to spill beyond the battlefield.
On Wednesday, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) declared what it called "full control" of the 39-kilometre waterway, warning it would attack any vessel attempting to pass.
US President Donald Trump swiftly pledged to deploy the Navy to escort tankers through the strait — a move that would put American forces on a direct collision course with Iranian forces in one of the world's most strategically vital waters.
And in the eye of the storm, one country is likely watching events unfold with quiet satisfaction: Russia.
Euronews' Laila Humairah brings us more:
The country likely winning from Iran’s Hormuz gambit? Russia
The world’s most critical shipping chokepoint is becoming a geopolitical battleground — and Russia may be the unlikely winner.
