CNN sued for defamation by Azerbaijan after Iran war report links country to Israel

CNN allegedly “endangered” the nation of Azerbaijan with a “reckless” June 5 report claiming the country allowed Israel to use its territory as a military base during the Iran war, according to a lawsuit.

The Republic of Azerbaijan is accusing the Atlanta-based network of defamation for a CNN World post headlined, “Exclusive: Israel sent troops to Azerbaijan during Iran war, sources say,” Bloomberg News reported.

“Azerbaijan, which shares a border with Iran to the south, is not and has never been a participant in the Iran War,” it insisted in the litigation filed in Delaware Federal Court, noting the country “has not supported military operations by any of the warring nations” and “maintains a policy of neutrality and independence.”

But CNN’s report “threatened to drag Azerbaijan into war,” according to the legal filing, which seeks unspecified damages.

The gist of the report was “demonstrably and knowingly false and recklessly exacerbate geopolitical tensions in an already volatile region,”  according to Azerbaijan.

The case brings raises the legal question of whether a foreign country can bring such claims, noted Bloomberg, which said it’s settled U.S. law that the First Amendment means Americans can criticize their own government without retaliation.

The “rationale has no application to a foreign sovereign, which is not accountable to the American electorate,” according to court papers.

“Allegations that a sovereign state secretly facilitated military operations against a neighboring country are not mere rhetorical criticism or statements of opinion. They are extraordinarily dangerous factual assertions that can and will be disproved at trial.”

Azerbaijan insisted it attempted to “set the record straight” but was “repeatedly ignored by CNN,” according to the complaint.

The country has a “a legitimate interest in its international reputation and in the safety and well-being of its people,” the nation further argued.

“We stand by our reporting,” a CNN spokesperson said.