A Shia Cause and a Security Charge: Azerbaijan's Hijab Decree Revives Tehran's "Israeli Base" Narrative
Azerbaijan's September 21 school uniform decree, which keeps girls and teachers who wear headscarves out of state classrooms, has given Iran's hardliners a story that joins Shia solidarity, the domestic hijab fight and the war with Israel. Clerics in Qom and Tabriz and the Kayhan newspaper have revived the old charge that Baku serves as an Israeli base against Iran, while the government has kept its distance. We assess that rhetoric will intensify without a material break, because the blockade makes Iran's land routes through the Caucasus more valuable than at any point in the war. An Iran Dossier special report for October 17, 2026.