Searching for unmanned aircraft’s owner

Peter Lyukimson, Israel. Exclusively for Vestnik Kavkaza

Israeli experts reject Iran’s version that an unmanned aircraft (UMA) shot above nuclear facilities of the country was made in Israel. For several days after Iran’s statement that its Air Forces had destroyed an UMA made in Israel, the Foreign Ministry of Israel hadn’t commented on information for two reasons.

First, all the military and political circles of Israel are dealing with problems with the war against Hamas at the moment; and all other issues, including the Iranian problem, have paled into insignificance.

Secondly, initially Israeli experts had no materials for conducting an investigation and making conclusions. Iran only made statements, but didn’t present any facts which could confirm the statements. Finally, in mid-week Iranian mass media published photos of pieces of an aircraft which was called “Hermes” UMA. The photos are dim, as if Iranian photographers and cameramen have no professional cameras. However, Israeli experts managed to analyze the photographs and made a conclusion: the depicted pieces had nothing in common with a “Hermes” UMA or any other UMA made in Israel. The low quality of the photographs explains an attempt of Iran to falsify facts.

According to military experts of Israel, it is nonsense to say that an Israeli UMA could be launched from the territory of Azerbaijan. First of all, Israel has satellites which enable it to watch Iranian territory, including nuclear facilities, under any weather conditions. All satellites are equipped with high-tech cameras. It would be unreasonable to use UMA, having such satellites. But even if we imagine that Israel wants to use UMA for watching Iranian territory, it would never launch its aircraft from Azerbaijani territory or any other country’s territory.

Israel has UMAs which can fly for several days without landing, cross Iranian territory and fulfil any military task. The question is: why did Iran need such a provocation? Considering the statement made by Iran after a report on destruction of “an Israeli unmanned aircraft,” Iran began to arm terrorist groups on the West Bank of the Jordan, as “Israel violated Iranian airspace.”

Thus, the provocation with UMA was necessary to explain to the world the support for the most extremist forces among the Palestinians. According to one of the leading military experts of Israel, Ron Ben-Ishaya, the provocation is a part of a psychological war conducted by Iran, which is aimed at demonization of Israel in the world and falsification of the true picture of events in the Middle East.

Iran is concerned about recent statements by the Foreign Minister of Israel, Avigdor Lieberman, that the positions of Israel were close to the positions of Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and other Islamic counties. Iran is ready to do its best to prevent the process. And of course, the Tehran authorities are concerned about friendly and growing cooperation between Israel and Azerbaijan. Breaking relations is one of the priorities of Iranian foreign policy. That’s why Iran stated that the so-called Israeli UMA was launched from Azerbaijani territory. Iran demonstrates that it will organize new provocations, while Baku cooperates with Jerusalem.

The same situation concerns publications in some Azerbaijani mass media that “the Israeli media continues a campaign against Azerbaijan” – so-called exaggeration of a scandal over vandalism of a Jewish cemetery in Shemakh by Israel. I don’t know whether there has been real vandalism or not. But I can say that no Israeli newspaper has published any information on the Shemakh cemetery. And the initiators of the provocation cannot give any reference to it either, as it doesn’t exist.

Nobody knows in Israel about events in Shemakh, if anything has happened there. But even if there has been such information, Israel knows well that Azerbaijan treats the Jews carefully and anti-Semitism is impossible in the country. However, it is no secret that there are bastards in any country and of any origin.

The authors of these publications, speaking about a “campaign of Israeli media against Azerbaijan,” refer only to one mass media – the Agency of Jewish News. First of all, one article is not a campaign; secondly, the AJN is not Israeli media, it is a Russian website. Moreover, Israeli mass media has many times confirmed the fact that the AJN misinterprets information about events in Israel and doesn’t reflect the position of the Jewish world.

So, we face a dirty and non-professional journalistic game. And its aim is to break Azerbaijani-Israeli relations at the political level. Of course it is clear that it is impossible to prevent all provocations and falsifications, especially if they are well financed, but fair journalists from both countries should reveal them and state the truth.