DOHA —The Qatari government has strongly dismissed assertions by Iranian officials alleging that Doha is holding three Iranian military pilots captive.
The diplomatic friction follows a March military incident involving Iranian Su-24 fighter jets during the opening phase of regional hostilities.
Dispute Over Captive Airmen
According to a letter sent by Brig. Gen. Mohammad Bagherzadeh of the Iranian Armed Forces General Staff to International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) President Mirjana Spoljaric, Tehran claimed that three pilots—identified as Javad Salehi, Abdul Majid Dashtian, and Imran Behroshian—had been held in Qatari custody for six months.
The letter urged the ICRC to intervene, alleging that the airmen were denied contact with their families and that a fourth pilot, Majid Kazemi, had been killed in the initial March 2 operation targeting a military base.
Qatari Response and Airspace Defense
Rejecting the accusations as completely unfounded, Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed Mohammed Al Ansari expressed surprise at the claims amid ongoing regional de-escalation efforts.
According to Qatari authorities, the aircraft entered Qatari airspace during the March operation and failed to respond to communications.
Qatari forces took defensive measures in line with international law, and subsequent search and rescue operations recovered the remains of one pilot.
Doha stated that it coordinated the handover of those remains in adherence to international humanitarian law and extended an invitation for an Iranian team to review search and rescue documentation—an invitation Tehran has not yet answered.