VIDEO: Israeli Defense System Intercepts Russian Missile Fired by Armenia Towards Baku

In November, during the Nagorno-Karabakh war, Armenia fired at least one Russian Iskander ballistic missile towards Baku, but it was intercepted by Azerbaijan. This was reported to Middle East Eye by a well-informed high-ranking official.

The official stated that Russia encouraged Armenia to use the Iskander missiles and provided material support for their launch to compel Azerbaijan to cease hostilities.

"The Iskander ballistic missile was launched by Yerevan a few days before the ceasefire was declared, alarming Azerbaijani officials. However, it was intercepted by the Israeli Barak-8 missile defense system operated by Azerbaijani forces," the official said.

"The further use of those missiles could have truly escalated the situation. And I believe that, among other factors, influenced the Azerbaijani leadership to opt for a ceasefire," he added.

The system was acquired by Azerbaijan in 2018 and has been tested. Video footage that surfaced on social media just hours before the ceasefire declared on November 9 shows that Armenia had launched an Iskander missile towards Azerbaijani territory.