One wonders what preparations are taking place

According to Regnum, on April 25, Iranian National Security Secretary Larijani said US recon teams are conducting surveillance of Iran, using Azerbaijan and Turkmen territories

"Reconnaissance units are acting in Azerbaijan, their activity is aimed against the Islamic Republic of Iran," Secretary of Iranian Supreme National Security Council Ali Larijani has said in an interview to Egyptian Al Ahram newspaper, reports APA news agency. Larijani noted that US special services use Azerbaijani and Turkmen territories against Iran. According to him, in case a military operation is launched, Iran can strike in response the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline and oil facilities in Azerbaijan.

Iran has already spoken with Azerbaijan about not letting its territory be used for attacks against Iran.

Last week, the President of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliev, was in Washington for meetings with President Bush. One wonders what was discussed behind closed doors. The Washington Post reported:

President Bush told the president of Azerbaijan on Friday that his oil-rich country has "a very important role to play" in guaranteeing energy security around the world. The two leaders also discussed Iran, an area of potential difference.

Bush said he assured President Ilham Aliev that the United States wants to resolve a crisis over Iran's nuclear program through diplomacy. Aliev has made it clear that he would not allow his country to be used for any operations against its neighbor.

Azerbaijan is understandably reluctant to publicly antagonize Iran, as they share a border, and as threatened above, Iran could strike back. However, there is a significant Azeri population in Iran, and not all happily support the mullahs. Again from Regnum in February,

The US representatives in Baku believe that Azerbaijan may help the United States in overthrowing the Iranian regime. “Azerbaijan considers the militarist political Islam as a threat to itself,” an American diplomat says in an interview to Jerusalem Post. Another US official says that ethnic Azeris may lead a coup d’etat in Iran. There are as many as 20 mln Azeris in Iran — over ¼ of the country’s population. The American diplomats say that the US is on excellent terms with Azeri President Ilham Aliyev. Azerbaijan provided its air space for American aircraft during the operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.