Azerbaijan arrests Iranian suspected of planning attack on Israeli embassy

An Iranian national was arrested in Azerbaijan two weeks ago on the suspicion he was planning an attack on the Israeli embassy in Baku.

Hasan Faraji, 31, was arrested by Azerbaijani police after displaying "suspicious behavior" while wandering around the Israeli embassy in Baku on October 31. Faraji, who resisted arrest, was sentenced to 30 days of administrative detention.

According to Channel 10, Faraji is a part of the Iranian Quds Forces, a special unit of Iran's Revolutionary Guard that, among other roles, is tasked with planning and executing terrorist attacks against Israeli targets overseas.

Azerbaijani police raided Faraji's house, where it found plans and photographs indicating on his intention to commit a series of terrorist attacks against Israelis at the embassy.

Iranian media accused Azerbaijani authorities of torturing Faraji to get a confession out of him of things he did not plan to do.

A spokesman for the Azerbaijani Interior Ministry told news agency APA that accusations of torture were "groundless."

“Hasan Faraji did not complain of the detention conditions, treatment, and said he had not faced pressure, torture or actions insulting his honor and dignity," Sadig Gozalov said.

In February 2012, Azerbaijan announced that it had foiled a plot linked to Hezbollah and Iran in Baku.

The conspiracy involved a cell linked to the Revolutionary Guards’ Quds Force and the Lebanese terrorist organization, the Azerbaijani Ministry of National Security said, according to state television.

In May 2012, the Washington Post reported on an Iranian-linked plot to assassinate US diplomats and terrorize the Jewish community in Azerbaijan.

ANN.Az