Operation Diamond

Operation Diamond (Hebrew: מִבְצָע יַהֲלוֹם‎, Mivtza Yahalom) was an operation undertaken by the Mossad. Its goal was the acquisition of a Soviet-built Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21, the most advanced Soviet fighter plane at that time. The operation began in mid-1963 and ended on August 16, 1966, when an Iraqi Air Force MiG-21, flown by the Iraqi Assyrian defector Munir Redfa, landed at an air base in Israel. Israel and the United States were able to study the design of the plane.

MiG-21 production began in 1959, and Egypt, Syria and Iraq received numerous planes.

The first attempt to acquire the aircraft was conducted in Egypt by Mossad agent Jean Thomas. Thomas and his group were ordered to find a pilot, who for $1,000,000 would agree to fly the plane to Israel. However, their first attempt was unsuccessful. The Egyptian pilot they contacted, Adib Hanna, informed the authorities about Thomas' interest in the MiG. Thomas, his father, and three other people were arrested and charged with espionage. Thomas and two others were hanged in December 1962. The other three members of the group received long prison terms. The second attempt also failed. Mossad agents ended up assaulting two Iraqi pilots who refused to cooperate with them, in order to keep them quiet for some time.

In 1964 an Iraqi born Jew, Yusuf, contacted Israeli services in Tehran, at a time when Israel and Iran still had diplomatic relations, and Western Europe. Since he was 10 years old, Yusuf had worked as a servant for a Maronite Christian family. His girlfriend's friend was married to an Iraqi pilot named Munir Redfa. Redfa was annoyed that his Christian roots prevented his promotion in the military. He was also upset that he had been ordered to attack Iraqi Kurds. Yusuf understood that Redfa was ready to leave Iraq.

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