Operation François was an attempt made by the German Army's

Abwehr The (German language, German for ''resistance'' or ''defence'', though the word usually means ''counterintelligence'' in a military context) ) was the German military intelligence , military-intelligence service for the ''Reichswehr'' and the ...

to use the dissident

Qashqai people Qashqai people ( ; ) are a Turkic peoples, Turkic tribal confederation in Iran. Almost all of them speak Qashqai language, Qashqai, an Oghuz language they call ''Turki'', as well as Persian language, Persian in formal use. The Qashqai mainly live ...

in Iran to sabotage British and American supplies bound for the Soviet Union. Operation François was led by

Otto Skorzeny Otto Johann Anton Skorzeny (12 June 1908 – 5 July 1975) was an Austrian-born German SS-''Standartenführer'' in the ''Waffen-SS'' during World War II. During the war, he was involved in a number of operations, including the removal from power ...

, who sent the 502nd SS Jäger Battalion to parachute into Iran during the summer of 1943, the first mission carried out by the unit. Skorzeny, who remained behind to train more recruits, characterized Operation François as "a failure" due mainly to inadequate reinforcements and supplies needed for the mission.

Michael Bar-Zohar Michael Bar-Zohar (; born 30 January 1938) is an Israeli historian, novelist and politician. He was a member of the Knesset on behalf of the Alignment and Labor Party in the 1980s and early '90s. Biography Born in Bulgaria, Bar-Zohar immigrate ...

, in his biography of Paul Ernst Fackenheim, states that during Fackenheim's captivity in

Latrun Latrun (, ''Latrun''; , ''al-Latrun'') is a strategic hilltop in the Latrun salient in the Ayalon Valley. It overlooks the road between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, 25 kilometers west of Jerusalem and 14 kilometers southeast of Ramla. It was the si ...

, where the British also kept Nazi-sympathizer General Fazlollah Zahedi, he saw "six or seven SS prisoners who parachuted into southern Iran, loaded with explosives and gold, and tried to bribe the Qashqai into rebelling against the British ... once they ran out of gold, the Qashqai turned them to the British."Skorzeny's Secret Missions (New York: EP Dutton and Company, Inc, 1950), page 16

References

Francois Iran in World War II Military history of Iran during World War II Middle East theatre of World War II 1943 in Iran {{World-War-II-stub