Group of Western conservative journalists visit Azerbaijan and meet with well-known anti-Iran MP

On Wednesday, the pro-government Azerbaijani media outlet APA shared news that a group of ‘prominent US journalists’ had arrived in Baku and met with Azerbaijani MP Fazil Mustafa, Chair of the Great Order Party and Head of the Committee on Public Associations and Religious Organisations.

Despite the fact that not all of the journalists were actually from the US, they all had a shared background in right-wing and conservative politics.

APA wrote that Mustafa had ‘answered journalists’ questions regarding Azerbaijan–US relations, human rights issues, the religious and socio-political situation in the country, government-opposition relations, the current state of political parties and civil society entities, and the prospects for the Armenia-Azerbaijan peace process’.

Mustafa, who is the sole member of the ostensible opposition Great Order Party in parliament, also ‘shared his party’s stance on key issues, including the Turkic world, the Russia–Ukraine war, Azerbaijan–Russia relations, Azerbaijan–Iran relations, and other current matters’.

In 2023, Mustafa survived a shooting outside his home in Baku, which authorities characterised as an ‘act of terror’.

In the weeks that followed, Azerbaijani authorities hinted that the shooting may have been connected to Mustafa’s hawkish views on Iran. There were also separate allegations of a supposed Iran-linked coup attempt, which led to a sweeping roundup of Shia Azerbaijanis.

The visit by the group of journalists comes amid increasing discussion of a US–Israel–Azerbaijan trilateral alliance, which has led to speculation that the administration of US President Donald Trump may be attempting to use the partnership as a ‘bulwark against Iranian influence’.

Nonetheless, there were sparse comments from the journalists themselves on the trip, and none publicly commented, at least at the time of this publication, on any supposed connection to the trilateral alliance.

The visit did not receive much coverage elsewhere.

Azerbaijan and Israel have emerged as somewhat unlikely allies in recent years, and have maintained close ties even as perceptions of Israel across the bulk of the Muslim world have plummeted since the beginning of the war in Gaza in 2023.

Many have credited Israeli-manufactured arms as playing a crucial role in helping Azerbaijan achieve success in its 2023 final lightning offensive against Nagorno-Karabakh.