Iran, Azerbaijan and Israel's Triangle — Alexander Grinberg

This episode of The IR thinker explores the complex relationship between Iran and Azerbaijan, tracing its historical roots and examining how ethnicity, geography and regional rivalries shape contemporary relations. The discussion considers the position of the Azeri minority in Iran, the Huseyniyyun Brigade, the Zangezur corridor, the Caspian Sea, Iran’s security ties with Armenia and Israel’s evolving role in the South Caucasus.Alexander GrinbergAlexander Grinberg is an Iran expert at the Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security and a captain (res.) in the Israel Defense Forces Military Intelligence research department. He holds degrees in Middle East and Islamic studies, and in Arabic language and literature, from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and is a doctoral student in Iranian history at Tel Aviv University.Content00:00 Introduction01:01 Overview of Iran-Azeri Relations10:08 The Azeri Minority in Iran15:28 Reasons Behind Iran’s Avoidance of Direct Confrontation with Azerbaijan22:52 The Huseyniyyun Brigade27:57 The Zangezur Corridor29:36 Georgia’s Role in Iran-Azeri Relations32:18 Geopolitics of the Caspian Sea34:28 Iranian Secret Service Operations in Azerbaijan37:54 Ensuring Armenian Security for Iranian Interests40:44 The Relationship between Israel and Armenia42:59 The Significance of the Nakhchivan Region48:07 Iran’s Military Base in Armenia49:40 Major Global Powers and Their Influence in the Caucasus52:55 Israeli Foreign Policy vis-à-vis Azerbaijan56:12 Azeri Foreign Policy and Its Stance towards IsraelFollow & Further ResourcesSubstack: https://theirthinker.substack.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ir-thinker/X: https://x.com/irthinker_Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theirthinker/Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/theirthinker.bsky.socialFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/irthinkerfb Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.