The service was established by decree of the Ilham Aliyev, President of the Republic, dated December 14, 2015, to replace the Ministry of National Security & help the Azerbaijan Armed Forces in a future war against Armenia.

President Ilham Aliyev signed a decree on the establishment of the emblem of the Foreign Intelligence Service in the spring of 2017.

[2][3] An order to approve the state program for improving the activities of the Foreign Intelligence Service of the Azerbaijan Republic for 2017–2021 was signed by the president in December 2017.

The YARASA Special Forces [az; tr] of the Foreign Intelligence Service took part in the Lachin offensive during the Second Nagorno-Karabakh War.

[4] Fighters of the YARASA Special Forces also worked mainly in the rear of the Armenian Army positions, participating in taking control of a number of settlements of Azerbaijan during the hostilities.