Francop Affair

Four Species
Part of the Israel-Iran proxy conflict
Weaponry that was hidden under sacks of Polyethylene that served to disguise it as civilian cargo on the Francop
Planned by	Israeli Navy
Objective	Seize freighter Francop
Date	4 November 2009
Executed by	Shayetet 13
Outcome	Successful Israeli naval interception

The Francop Affair was a high seas incident on November 4, 2009 in which the Israeli Navy seized the cargo ship MV Francop in the eastern Mediterranean Sea and its cargo of hundreds of tons of weapons allegedly bound from Iran to Hezbollah. The incident is also known by its military operation name, Operation Four Species.

Israeli commanders had received intelligence reports that the ship MV Francop was carrying weapons originating from Iran, which were to be transferred to Hezbollah. The ship was about 160 kilometres (100 mi) off the coast of Israel, near Cyprus, when it was stopped.

On November 4, 2009, the ship was radioed by an Israeli Navy missile boat, which ordered it to halt and prepare for inspection. Shayetet 13 naval commandos then boarded the ship without resistance. The navy said that the crew was not aware of the purported smuggling and cooperated with the commandos. The commandos broke open the shipping containers and discovered crates of weapons and munitions hidden between sacks of polyethylene stacked along the openings and sides. A spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the ship was carrying "dozens of shipping containers, carrying numerous weapons, disguised as civilian cargo among hundreds of other containers on board". After boarding, the Israeli navy directed the ship to the Israeli port of Ashdod where a thorough inspection was held.

According to the IDF, the ship picked up the cargo in Damietta, Egypt; the cargo arrived in Egypt on a ship that sailed from Bandar Abbas, Iran on October 25. The ship was then set to sail to Limassol, Cyprus and then Latakia, Syria. The IDF suspects that the cargo was intended for Hezbollah, which fought Israel in the 2006 Lebanon War. Following the war, United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701 forbade the shipments of arms to Hezbollah. In 2010, the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1929 authorized states to seize items, including arms, that Iran is forbidden from exporting.