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The burgeoning relationship between Israel and Azerbaijan is raising eyebrows throughout the Middle East, not least of all because Azerbaijan is Iran鈥檚 neighbor to the north and shares close cultural and demographic ties with Iran.

Trade between Israel and Azerbaijan now totals $4 billion annually, the highest figure for Israel鈥檚 business with any of the now-independent countries that were part of the former Soviet Union, and there鈥檚 a frequent exchange of officials 鈥� most recently Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who visited Azerbaijan鈥檚 capital, Baku, this week. 鈥淥ur relationship is very intense,鈥� Mr. Lieberman said.

Azerbaijan鈥檚 position between Iran and Russia has long made it a diplomatic 鈥渄en of spies,鈥� where various, often hostile, countries 鈥� including the United States, Iran, Russia, and Israel 鈥� could gather intelligence on one another.

But it鈥檚 the nature of Israel鈥檚 trade with Azerbaijan that鈥檚 drawn the most interest. In February, Azerbaijan agreed to pay state-run Israel Aerospace Industries $1.6 billion for a wide range of military products, including drones and anti-aircraft and anti-missile defense systems. That鈥檚 nearly a quarter of the money Azerbaijan鈥檚 government takes in each year, $7.8 billion. Azerbaijan also provides about 30 percent of Israel鈥檚 energy needs.

鈥淏aku has an important role in Israel鈥檚 regional aspirations,鈥� said an Israeli diplomat who has worked on several trade deals that involved Azerbaijan. He couldn鈥檛 be named because he wasn鈥檛 authorized to discuss the subject with a reporter.

Speculation on how far the relationship goes is rampant. Israel, after all, has been threatening to take military action against Iran鈥檚 nuclear program. A recent report in Foreign Policy magazine alleged that, in addition to the commercial ties, Israel has acquired access to airfields in Azerbaijan鈥檚 north that might be used in any attack on Iran.

Azeri and Israeli officials have denied the story. In a recent news report on Israeli preparations for a possible strike on Iran broadcast by Israel鈥檚 Channel 2, unnamed Israeli officials said there were 鈥渂etter, more practical options鈥� than airfields in Azerbaijan. The program didn鈥檛 elaborate on what those might be, however.

That hasn鈥檛 made Iranians any happier about the Azeri-Israeli alliance. Relations between Azerbaijan and Iran have worsened steadily, and earlier this year Iranian officials summoned Azerbaijan鈥檚 ambassador to Tehran to the Foreign Ministry over reports that the Azeri government was allowing Israeli Mossad agents to gather intelligence along the Azerbaijan-Iran border.

In Azerbaijan, military analysts have speculated that access to Azeri airfields could be intended for drone missions over Iran, rather than a strike.

鈥淭here have been Western powers looking at the airfields in Azerbaijan for a long time and wanting to use them. Israel may have found a way,鈥� said Arastun Orujlu, a former Azeri counterintelligence officer who鈥檚 the director of the East-West Research Center in Baku. He said it was well-known that Israel produced some parts for its drones in Azerbaijan and kept a large fleet outside Baku.

Azerbaijan has had Israeli drones since at least 2008, when they were first seen in a public parade. In September 2011, an Azeri drone of Israeli origin was shot down over Nagorno-Karabakh, a territory that鈥檚 the subject of a dispute between Azerbaijan and Armenia. That same month, the Azeri government announced that Israel鈥檚 Aeronautics Defense Systems had licensed it to build drones based on the Israeli model.

Under a deal struck this February, Azerbaijan is expected to acquire 60 Israeli-designed unmanned aerial vehicles.

Speaking to the Azeri news station News.Az, Azerbaijani political expert Rovshan Ibrahimov said Lieberman鈥檚 visit to Baku this week was the most recent in a long line of moves by Israel to threaten Iran through Azerbaijan.

鈥淭he arrival of Lieberman is part of the situation escalated around Iran by Israel. Here are some aspects of the fact that Israel is trying to show Tehran that it can at any time strike Iran, and for this makes certain steps to ensure the support of its allies in this plan,鈥� he said.

Lieberman denied that his trip was meant to intimidate. He said his meetings with top officials in Baku, including President Ilham Aliyev, focused on bilateral relations, although his office released a statement that said Iran also had been on the agenda.