Operation Diamond

The Egyptian pilot they contacted, Adib Hanna, informed the authorities about Thomas' interest in the MiG.

Mossad agents ended up assaulting two Iraqi pilots who refused to cooperate with them, in order to keep them quiet for some time.

[2] In 1964, a Jewish Iraqi, Yusuf, contacted Israeli personnel in Tehran, as Israel and Iran still had diplomatic relations.

[2][3] A female Mossad agent befriended Redfa, and he told her that he was forced to live far away from his family in Baghdad, he was not trusted by his commanders, and allowed to fly only with small fuel tanks because of his Christianity.

[2][3] Numerous Mossad agents were sent to Iraq to assist the transfer of Redfa's wife Betty, their two children aged three and five, his parents and a number of other family members out of the country.

The Jordanians contacted Syria but were reassured that the plane belonged to the Syrian air force and was on a training mission.

[2] When Redfa's plane reached Israel, he was met by two Israeli Air Force Dassault Mirage IIIs, which escorted him to a landing at Hatzor.

The jet's strengths and weaknesses were analyzed and it was flown against IAF fighters, eventually training Israeli pilots to deal with the aircraft.

[5] In May 1967 director of CIA Richard Helms said that Israel had proven that it had made good use of the aircraft, when on April 7, 1967, during aerial battles over the Golan Heights, the Israeli Air Force brought down 6 Syrian MiG-21s without losing any of its Dassault Mirage IIIs.