Azerbaijani authorities vehemently denied a CNN report claiming Israel carried out advanced intelligence and military operations from its territory during the war with Iran.

Israel and Azerbaijan have been known to be close allies since the 1990s, but a CNN report, citing four sources familiar with the matter, alleged a previously unknown element in their relationship on Friday. According to the report, Israel sent dozens of commandos and Mossad operatives to operate out of secret bases in southern Azerbaijan during the recent war with Iran, operations that extended into intelligence gathering and drone assassinations. It alleged that one of the most pivotal assassinations of the war, which killed Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps intelligence chief Rahman Moghaddam in the opening days of the conflict, was carried out by a drone operated out of Azerbaijan.