Iran Accuses Qatar of Detaining Pilots; Doha Denies Claim

Iran has accused Qatar of secretly detaining three Iranian military pilots following the outbreak of the joint U.S.-Israeli campaign against Tehran. Qatar has strongly denied the allegation.

In a statement on Saturday, Qatar's Foreign Ministry rejected the claim that its forces were holding any surviving Iranian aircrew.

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed Al-Ansari said Qatar was "surprised by these misleading statements," especially at a time when diplomatic efforts are underway to reduce regional tensions.

His remarks came after Iranian officials called for the release of what they described as detained pilots.

According to Iran's Fars News Agency, Iranian Armed Forces General Mohammad Bagherzadeh sent a letter to the International Committee of the Red Cross claiming that three pilots—Javad Salehi, Abdolmajid Dashtian and Omran Behraveshian—were captured alive after their Su-24 fighter jet crashed in March.

Bagherzadeh alleged that the pilots had been held incommunicado for six months without access to their families or Iranian diplomatic representatives. He called for international humanitarian intervention.

Qatar, however, rejected the accusation outright.

Doha said its air defense forces intercepted the Iranian aircraft after it entered Qatari airspace without authorization in March. According to Qatari authorities, the aircraft failed to respond to repeated warnings, prompting defensive action.

Qatar said search-and-rescue teams later recovered the body of one pilot, Majid Kazemi, and coordinated with Iranian authorities to return his remains.

Iran had previously acknowledged that one pilot was killed and others were missing following the incident. However, the latest claim that the missing pilots are being detained by Qatar had not been made publicly before.